Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr yesterday again spoke out on behalf of Taiwan at the UN General Assembly, saying that China’s wrongful interpretation of UN Resolution 2758 has silenced Taiwan, whose inclusion in the UN would only strengthen the organization.
Whipps is among a number of international figures to voice support for Taiwan’s accession at this year’s UN General Assembly, which began on Tuesday and runs through Monday in New York.
Taiwan’s inclusion is an “urgent issue,” with the voices of 23 million people left unheard while Taiwan remains unable to fully participate in the UN system or contribute to the world, Whipps said.
Photo: Screen grab from the Journal of the United Nation’s X page
Resolution 2758, passed in 1971, states that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the only legitimate government of China, a move that enabled it to replace the Republic of China, Taiwan’s official name, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
China has willfully misinterpreted the resolution for many years now, using it to claim Taiwan as part of the PRC's territory, Whipps said.
Palau believes in inclusion, and no community offering solutions to global challenges should be left outside, he said.
Palau and Taiwan have been official diplomatic allies since 1999, with exchanges dating back to 1980.
On Wednesday, other leaders spoke up for Taiwan.
“Taiwan deserves a place in [the] forum as a matter of strict justice,” Paraguayan President Santiago Pena said.
“Disruptions of the status quo in the Taiwan Strait or elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific would further destabilize global security and trade,” said Czech President Petr Pavel, a long-term Taiwan supporter.
The Marshall Islands and Eswatini called for Taiwan’s inclusion to help realize Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Taiwan is an “important partner to the Marshall Islands and the world in the SDGs,” Marshallese President Hilda Heine said, while Eswatini’s King Mswati III said that the UN should “seek suitable ways of including Taiwan in efforts to realize the SDGs.”
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
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