Your one-stop shop for all of Taiwan’s diplomacy efforts. If there’s been a bilateral meeting, a trade agreement, a cultural exchange or an informal dialogue, this is where you’ll find it
1. U.S.: An important visit to Washington from the next vice president, and proposed military assistance in White House budget
In the week following U.S. President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech, in which he called for peace across the Taiwan Strait, the White House’s 2025 fiscal budget proposal made a “standalone request for Taiwan military assistance” totalling $100 million.
Taiwan’s vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) is in Washington, according to an exclusive story by the Wall Street Journal. It said Hsiao plans to meet U.S. officials, though a spokesperson for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said Hsiao was traveling in a personal capacity.
On March 11, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) met a group of academics from think tanks based in Washington, D.C., led by Bonnie Glaser, managing director of German Marshall Fund’s Indo-Pacific Program. They agreed to increase cooperation with the global democratic community.
On the same day, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) met with delegations from The Center for American Progress and Food for the Poor, two U.S.-based think tanks.
2. Japan: The first parliamentary visit for the new term of the Legislative Yuan, and military drills
On March 10, the U.S. and Japan conducted the Iron Fist military drills, with a view toward “Taiwan emergencies,” according to Japanese media reporting on statements by Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Forces.
On the same day, Taiwan sent a delegation of lawmakers from its Legislative Yuan to the General Assembly of the Asian-Pacific Parliamentarians’ Union, this year held in Japan and focused on tackling climate change. This was the first parliamentary delegation sent out since Taiwan’s new parliamentary term began and its leader, Vice Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), said this showed the two countries were not only trade partners but also shared core values such as freedom, human rights and democracy.
The delegation also met with Japan’s Democratic Party for the People leader Yuichiro Tamaki and former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, now vice president of the Liberal Democratic Party.
After Taiwan’s semiconductor giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company opened its first fab in Japan at the end of February, president-elect Lai Ching-te (賴清德) received a delegation from the Japan Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry on March 11. He highlighted the TSMC development as embodying the potential for further cooperation.
3. Europe: A large delegation, a key meeting at the White House, and cooperation on Ukraine
On March 4, the largest ever cross-party delegation from Estonia arrived in Taiwan. In a speech, President Tsai said she hoped to advance exchanges in areas such as information and communications technology and precision machinery.
In a rare invitation, the White House announced that Czech Republic President Petr Fiala will make a visit on April 15. Part of the reason for this is likely to be that the Czech Republic is “one of the hawkish European allies on China [and] is the best friend of Taiwan in Europe,” according to Jakub Janda, director at the European Values Center for Security Policy.
On March 12, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the Czech envoy to Ukraine will visit Taiwan to continue discussions on the Czech Republic and Taiwan’s partnership on rebuilding Ukraine’s water treatment and energy generating systems.
4. Diplomatic Allies: A significant visit to Tuvalu
After Nauru switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing immediately after Taiwan’s general election in January, Taipei was left with only 12 diplomatic allies.
Following the election of Prime Minister Feleti Teo, Tuvalu shared a statement saying, “The new government wishes to reaffirm its commitment to the long-term and lasting special relationship between Tuvalu and the Republic of China, Taiwan.” Since then, Teo has said that Tuvalu is sticking with Taiwan out of loyalty and commitment to democracy. Taiwan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) has also visited the new prime minister.
Saint Lucia commerce minister Emma Hippolyte visited Taiwan to explore collaboration in trade and investment.
5. India: An awkward apology over racist comments
Taiwan signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with India on February 16 regarding a plan to receive Indian migrant workers. Days later, in an online interview, Taiwan Labor Minister Hsu Ming-chun (許銘春) said that her ministry would first recruit Indian workers from northeastern India because “their skin color and dietary habits are closer to ours,” adding that they were mostly Christian. After a backlash, she apologized, and Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a clarification, apologizing and saying the minister’s remarks were not “appropriate.”
There was no official response from India’s Ministry of External Affairs, but some experts within India have warned that similar statements could hurt the relationship in future. For now, India Taipei Association Director-General Manharsinh Laxmanbhai Yadav expressed optimism about the MOU and said he believed economic cooperation between Taiwan and India, including over semiconductors, would prove fruitful.
6. Additional Developments: Parliamentary recognition from a couple of directions
The 2025 General Assembly of the Asian-Pacific Parliamentarians’ Union will be held in Taiwan.
The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China launched a new campaign asking world leaders to consider the effect of a “shock” in the Taiwan Strait.
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