ASEAN visa-free privileges result of long-term engagement: Diplomat

Taipei, July 1 (CNA) The decisions by Thailand, the Philippines and Brunei to grant Taiwan visa-free entry over the past year are the result of years-long consultations, a diplomat in charge of East Asian affairs said Tuesday.

Peter Lan (藍夏禮), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' (MOFA) Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said Taiwan granted visa-free entry to the three countries to facilitate two-way travel for business and tourism purposes in August 2016.

Since then, Taiwan's government has been pushing these Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) countries to make the program a reciprocal one.

After years of consultations, Thailand announced in July 2024 that it would give visa-free entry to Taiwanese, and the Philippines and Brunei have now extended the same courtesy, effective June 23, 2025 and July 1, 2025, Lan said.

Beyond extensive consultations, MOFA's implementation of an Integrated Diplomacy and Diplomatic Allies Prosperity Project that seeks to deepen economic ties with allies and like-minded countries also played an important role in the result, according to Lan.

Meanwhile, a diplomatic source told reporters Tuesday that he believed long-term goodwill gestures on Taiwan's part in offering visa-free treatment to the three ASEAN countries had finally produced successful results.

Previously, each of the three countries had their own concerns on whether to reciprocate, given that China exerts significant economic and political influence over ASEAN.

Also, the new Donald Trump administration's announcement of steep protective tariffs affecting nearly all goods imported into the United States are pushing these ASEAN countries to make some changes to meet the new geopolitical challenges, the source said.

Taking the example of the Philippines, it is the closest ASEAN country to Taiwan but Taiwanese investment there is lower than in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, the source said.

One of the main reasons is the lack of visa-free entry, preventing more frequent travel by Taiwanese investors to the Philippines, the source said.

The launch of the Diplomatic Allies Prosperity Project, coupled with Taiwan's interest in the Philippines' Luzon Economic Corridor project, offered extra incentives for the Philippines to reciprocate the visa treatment, the source said.

The Integrated Diplomacy (總和外交) and Diplomatic Allies Prosperity Project (榮邦計劃) was launched by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in May 2024 to deepen substantive relations with allies and like-minded countries.