《TAIPEI TIMES》 Australia creates new post in Taiwan amid tensions

CLOSE CONTACT: In an interview in ‘The Australian,’ foreign minister Wu urged Canberra to appoint a military attache to maintain systematic engagement

By Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporter

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The Australian government has appointed a director of strategic affairs to its representative office in Taiwan in response to increased Chinese threats in the Indo-Pacific region, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The Australian Office in Taipei created the post last year amid Chinese expansionism, the ministry said, adding that the director has been in close contact with the Ministry of National Defense and other agencies.

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Australia has also maintained close communications with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on the regional security situation, it said.

The ministry’s announcement came after Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu （吳釗燮） called on Canberra to send military attaches to Taipei in an interview with The Australian, which was published online on Sunday and in print yesterday.

The representative offices of the US, Japan and Singapore all have military attaches, Wu said.

Military attaches allow the two sides to maintain systematic and institutionalized engagement, share intelligence and jointly assess the regional situation, Wu told The Australian.

Regional issues call for careful discussions between Taiwan and Australia, he said, adding that Taiwan would respect Canberra’s decision.

The Australian Office in Taipei has been communicating with Taiwanese national security officials, which shows that Australia values Taiwan’s opinions, Wu said.

Canberra has always attached importance to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, opposed unilateral changes to the “status quo” and supported Taiwan’s international participation, he said.

Wu thanked the Australian office for issuing a joint statement with seven other representative offices in Taiwan to support Taipei’s participation in the WHO and the World Health Assembly last month.

Australia reiterated the importance of cross-strait peace and stability during the G7 leaders’ summit in the same month and called for the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues, he said.

Taiwan agrees that a cross-strait conflict “is neither imminent nor inevitable” as US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said at the Shangri-La Dialogue earlier this month, Wu said.

Taiwan would continue to work with democratic partners to deter China by bolstering its self-defense capabilities, he said.

Wu said he hopes that Taiwan and Australia can enhance substantive cooperation, citing the example of Sydney-based Macquarie Capital investing in the Formosa II wind farm in Taiwan, which shows that the two sides are working toward the common goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

The cooperation also shows that Taiwan is safe and stable even in the face of Chinese intimidation, and that Australian investment in Taiwan is increasing instead of decreasing, he said.

Wu called on Australia to begin negotiations for an economic cooperation agreement with Taiwan following the success of such an agreement with New Zealand and the recent signing of the initial agreement under the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade.

Additional reporting by CNA

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES