Taiwan is preparing to open a representative office in Cebu, Philippines, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) confirmed today.
The office, which would be Taiwan's second in the Southeast Asian country after Manila, would serve travelers and businesspeople in the southern Philippines, Lin said in a radio interview following a Nikkei Asia report on the new office published yesterday.
He did not say when the Cebu office would open.
Photo courtesy of Pop radio
Taiwan-Philippine relations have made significant progress during his tenure, Lin said, citing Manila's decision to grant Taiwanese visa-free entry on a reciprocal basis and the signing of an agreement to avoid double taxation.
About 600,000 visits are made from the Philippines to Taiwan each year, while visa-free access has also encouraged more Taiwanese to travel to the Philippines, Lin said.
The ministry decided to establish an additional office because the southern Philippines is home to many Taiwanese expatriates, tourists and businesspeople who require consular services, he said.
As Taiwan's neighbor and a fellow member of the first island chain, the Philippines is an important partner, Lin said.
Taiwan is developing a Taiwan-Philippines Economic Corridor, an initiative designed to connect Taiwan with the US-Japan-Philippines-backed Luzon Economic Corridor, to facilitate the movement of people, goods and capital, he said.
Lin dismissed reports that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), who is expected to meet US President Donald Trump during a visit to the US on Thursday next week, had asked Washington to refrain from approving a second round of arms sales to Taiwan before the summit.
The reports were part of Beijing's cognitive warfare efforts, Lin said, adding that Beijing is attempting to create the impression that Trump would withhold arms sales to Taiwan out of concern for Xi's visit.
With only days remaining before the meeting, any arms sales package for Taiwan would still have to go through the US congressional review process and remains under consideration, he said.
The US government has reiterated that its Taiwan policy remains unchanged and that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are in the interests of the US and the international community, he said.
Taiwan-US relations continue to be grounded in the Taiwan Relations Act and the “six assurances,” Lin added.
Taiwan's interests are also US interests, he said, citing the two sides’ shared stakes in the First Island Chain in the Indo-Pacific region, developing non-China supply chains and upholding global democratic values.
Diplomacy is based on national interests, and Washington would not sacrifice Taiwan in a way that would ultimately harm itself, he added.
Asked about President William Lai’s (賴清德) overseas trips and US transit plans, Lin said that exchanges with Taiwan's diplomatic allies would continue and would be arranged at an appropriate time and in an appropriate manner.
Following Lai's transit through Hawaii to visit Pacific allies, future stops in the US during trips to Latin America should be routine, he said.
All arrangements would strictly follow the principles of safety, dignity, convenience and comfort, he added.
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