Taiwan has pledged US$3 million to the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF), a regional climate and disaster fund, despite not being invited to last week's Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders' Meeting, a diplomat said today.
Michael Lin (林昭宏), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said that Tuvalu announced the donation on Taiwan's behalf during the meeting from Monday to Friday last week in the Solomon Islands.
Photo: Huang Ching-hsuan, Taipei Times
The contribution, to be paid over three years, demonstrates Taiwan's determination to cooperate with the PIF and like-minded countries in the region to promote prosperity and sustainable development, Lin said.
The PRF, launched at the 54th PIF meeting in Honiara, aims to help Pacific communities overcome barriers to global financing.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister and PIF chair Jeremiah Manele hailed it as a game-changer and emphasized the importance of Pacific-led solutions.
The facility seeks to raise US$500 million in initial capital, with a long-term goal of US$1.5 billion.
Other pledges include US$64 million from Australia, US$25 million from the US and US$3 million from Japan, Lin said.
Taiwan has been a PIF partner country since 1993 and has contributed to the bloc in the past.
However, this year's forum was restricted to the forum's 18 member states, after the Solomon Islands barred partner countries, including Taiwan, the US and China, from attending.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS