U.S., Taiwan teaming up to help Marshall Islands: State Department

Washington, Sept. 20 (CNA) The United States and Taiwan are working together to help the Marshall Islands rebuild its recently burnt-down parliament building and enhance the Pacific nation's resilience, according to the U.S. State Department.

Following U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau's visit to Palau and the Marshall Islands on Sept. 17 and 18, the U.S. State Department said Washington will provide US$13 million in funding to rebuild the Nitijela parliament building "in conjunction with support from Taiwan."

A fire seriously damaged the Nitijela parliament building in the early hours of Aug. 26. To date, there has been no estimate of the financial losses incurred.

After the fire, Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) instructed Taiwan's embassy in the Marshall Islands to assess the situation and convey Taiwan's concern and sympathy to the Marshallese government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said at the time.

Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department, in coordination with Taiwan, is providing US$8.3 million "to help replace Air Marshall Islands' aging fleet and provide disaster relief capacity to outer islands, including Kwajalein Atoll, where the United States has critical military assets," it said in a fact sheet released online.

"This initiative will enhance transportation links across the RMI's vast geography, facilitating economic development and humanitarian efforts," the fact sheet says.

Both Palau and the Marshall Islands are diplomatic allies of Taiwan, officially named the Republic of China.

In response to the State Department's latest fact sheet, MOFA said in Taipei that it was happy to see the U.S. and Taiwan continue their cooperation in the Pacific to promote peace, stability, and prosperity in the two South Pacific nations and the whole Indo-Pacific region.

MOFA, however, did not provide further details on the two cooperation projects with the U.S. in the Marshall Islands.