FM reaffirms ties with allies, enhanced dealings with non-allies

Taipei, May 21 (CNA) Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said Wednesday that Taiwan's relations with all of its 12 diplomatic allies remain stable despite the fact that two of them sent representative to a forum in Beijing last week.

At a press event marking his first year in office, Lin also said that Taiwan is strengthening ties with non-diplomatic partners, including the Philippines, and doing its utmost to counter China's misinterpretation of a 1971 United Nations resolution, which it has used over the past year to claim Taiwan as part of its territory.

Reuters reported last Wednesday that two of Taiwan's diplomatic allies, Haiti and Saint Lucia, attended the Forum of China and Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) held on May 13 in Beijing, potentially suggesting worsening ties with Taipei.

Haiti was represented by Foreign Minister Jean-Victor Harvel Jean-Baptiste and Saint Lucia by diplomat Peter Lansiquot. However, a statement from Lin's ministry clarified that Jean-Baptiste attended in his capacity as Haiti's CELAC representative, while Lansiquot was representing his political party.

In response, Lin said at Wednesday's anniversary press event that the two allies had their own reasons for attending the Beijing forum and informed Taiwan before and after it was held.

Neither representative signed the joint declaration following the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the China-CELAC Forum, according to Lin.

Haiti sent its representative to the forum in hopes of gaining support from Beijing -- a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council -- for its call to deploy a U.N. peacekeeping mission to the Caribbean nation amid rising gang violence.

Overall, Taiwan's diplomatic ties with all 12 allies worldwide are stable, Lin said.

Commenting on Taiwan's efforts to strengthen ties with non-diplomatic partners, including the Philippines, which recently eased a decades-long restriction on official exchanges with Taiwan, Lin said that many countries maintaining official relations with China "also want to be friends with Taiwan."

According to Lin, they are questioning why both sides of the Taiwan Strait can maintain strong economic and trade relations despite political differences, while they themselves are unable to do business with both.

"So we are hoping to normalize relations with these countries," he said.

On April 15, the Philippines amended Executive Order No. 313, originally issued in 1987 by then-President Corazon Aquino to prohibit all government officials from visiting Taiwan due to the absence of diplomatic relations.

Under the revised policy, the travel restriction now applies only to the Philippine president, vice president, and the secretaries of foreign affairs and national defense, while other officials are permitted to visit Taiwan for economic, trade, and investment purposes.

At the press event, Lin also reiterated Taiwan's position on two recent incidents in Africa: South Africa's unilateral demand for Taiwan to relocate its representative office out of the administrative capital, Pretoria, and Somalia's refusal to allow Taiwan passport holders to enter or transit through the country, with both citing U.N. Resolution 2758.

Lin said that China is apparently behind both countries' decisions by pressuring the two countries to belittle Taiwan.

Taiwan will hold its ground, Lin said, because Beijing has launched a worldwide campaign to misinterpret the U.N. resolution, which could one day be used as an excuse to invade Taiwan.

"Once the PRC establishes the pretense that Taiwan is part of China, it would make invading Taiwan a Chinese internal affair," the minister said.

Resolution 2758 was adopted by the 26th U.N. General Assembly in 1971 to address the issue of China's representation at the international body, resulting in the Republic of China (Taiwan) losing its seat at the U.N. to the People's Republic of China (PRC).

The PRC has used the resolution as a basis to claim it has sovereignty over Taiwan.

Taipei has repeatedly emphasized that the 1971 resolution makes no mention of Taiwan. It neither determines that Taiwan is part of the PRC, nor does it authorize China to represent Taiwan within the U.N. system.

Lin, a former transportation minister, legislator, and mayor of Taichung, was appointed as Taiwan's top diplomat by President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and assumed office alongside Lai and his Cabinet on May 20, 2024.