Taiwan's top diplomat meets Australian lawmaker during stopover

Taipei, March 9 (CNA) Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) met with an Australian lawmaker during a stopover in Australia on his way home from Tuvalu, according to a social media post by the lawmaker.

In Facebook posts early Monday, Hugh McDermott, an Australian Labor Party member representing the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Prospect, posted a photo of himself shaking hands with Lin in Australia on Friday.

"On Friday, I was so pleased to meet with Minister Lin Chia-lung alongside parliamentary colleagues and representatives from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Australia," he wrote in the posts.

The office is Taiwan's de facto embassy in Australia in the absence of official diplomatic ties.

Neither the lawmaker or Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) specified the location in Australia where Lin made his transit stop.

Given the lack of official bilateral ties, it is rare for Taiwan's foreign minister to openly meet with Australian politicians even if he or she can make a stopover in the country, normally before or after visits to Taiwan's diplomatic allies in the South Pacific.

Asked to comment on the photo and Lin's unannounced visit to Australia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) told CNA on Monday that Lin has transited through Australia before and was doing so again after visiting Tuvalu last week as a special envoy of President Lai Ching-te (賴清德).

MOFA said it was a "necessary arrangement" to make such stopovers before and after visiting Tuvalu, one of Taiwan's (Republic of China's) 12 formal diplomatic allies, but had no further comment on the matter.

According to MOFA, Lin visited Tuvalu to expand bilateral cooperation in tackling climate change and promoting democratic development.

During his stay in Tuvalu on Wednesday and Thursday, Lin donated maintenance costs for Tuvalu's first undersea cable, "Vaka," to ensure communication resilience, and signed a double taxation avoidance agreement.

Lin returned to Taiwan on Saturday morning after making the transit stop in Australia, MOFA said.