Taiwan’s foreign policy in 2018 strengthened relations with key partners, defended the country’s sovereignty and values, enhanced travel convenience for the people and raised the nation’s global profile, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dec. 30.
Despite China’s ongoing efforts to suppress Taiwan’s international space, the nation continued to make great strides in deepening ties with the U.S., the EU, Japan and other like-minded countries in the Asia-Pacific and around the world, the MOFA said.
Robust Taiwan-U.S. relations are evidenced by the meeting Nov. 17 between Morris Chang, representative of President Tsai Ing-wen, and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Papua New Guinea. They are also highlighted by the visit in June of Marie Royce, U.S. assistant secretary of state for education and cultural affairs, for the inauguration of the American Institute in Taiwan’s new office complex in Taipei City.
In 2018, Taiwan concluded seven agreements and memorandums of understanding with Japan to expand exchanges on issues spanning law enforcement and small and medium enterprises. The nation also inked a bilateral investment pact and authorized economic operator mutual recognition accord with India as well as a comprehensive economic cooperation deal with Indonesia.
According to the MOFA, the success of foreign policy efforts is also reflected in strong overseas backing for Taiwan’s meaningful international participation, with organizations such as the European Parliament and Japanese parliamentary friendship group passing resolutions and issuing statements voicing their support in this regard.
As an indispensable partner for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, Taiwan also helped promote regional strategic and security dialogue with the goal of advancing free and open collaboration mechanisms.
In particular, the MOFA said that the Taiwan-U.S. Global Cooperation and Training Framework continued to serve as a major platform for working with like-minded countries in addressing challenges across such areas as disaster prevention, environmental protection, humanitarian aid, media literacy, public health and women’s empowerment.
With regard to travel convenience, Taiwan joined South Korea’s automatic customs clearance program in June, after entering similar arrangements with the U.S. and Australia in November 2017, the MOFA said. In addition, Taiwan had working holiday pacts with 16 countries as of the end of 2018, the ministry added.
The year saw significant progress in efforts to enhance Taiwan’s global visibility through social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, the MOFA said. Among other measures, a host of promotional campaigns, including several short films, were released to spotlight Taiwan’s bids to take part in annual meetings of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change and the World Health Assembly.
MOFA Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu conducted more than 30 interviews with international media outlets in which he detailed Taiwan’s foreign, cross-strait and national security policies. The ministry also worked with nongovernmental organizations on various initiatives to promote the country’s soft power and public diplomacy, such as the International Youth Ambassadors and Young Agricultural Ambassadors New Southbound Policy exchange programs.
While challenges remain, the MOFA said it will continue to advance forward-looking approaches aimed at safeguarding national sovereignty and expanding the country’s international space. (SFC-E)
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