Mr Keating has previously claimed that Australia was at odds with the region over the China-US strategic rivalry, and has criticized the AUKUS trilateral security agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Ahead of the meeting he toned down his criticism of the Albanian government, and said he supported efforts to “’stabilise’ relations with China”.
Taiwan is working hard to re-establish itself as an independent nation in global diplomatic forums, as it contends with an increasingly aggressive China in the South China Sea and in its militarized airspace.
China claims sovereignty over Taiwan and says the island is not a separate country but part of “one China” governed by Beijing. China’s insistence that Taiwan is not a country means that the island is excluded from many international organizations.
Mr Wu said Taiwan hopes to receive an invitation to observe the next World Health Organization meeting, to be held at the end of May. Before 2017, Taiwan was regularly invited to observe the meeting.
“Our friends know that we should not face obstacles for our participation,” Mr Wu said. “When it comes to global health, we want to be pragmatic and not political.”
Taiwan is also seeking inclusion in the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership. This is a large trade deal that includes countries like Japan, Singapore, Australia, Canada, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru and Vietnam.
Both China and Taiwan have made applications to join, but Mr Wu stressed the importance of setting up a working group to consider Taiwan’s bid.
“Once China joins the CPTPP, I don’t think we have any real chance of joining,” Mr Wu said. “So it is important we are included soon.”
Mr Wu acknowledged the importance of last week’s visit by Mr Wang to Australia, where he met with Senator Wong and a host of local business people.
“But we want to remind our friends that Taiwan’s interests matter,” Mr Wu said.
