Visits aim to drum up CPTPP support

INCLUSIVITY:
The pact should create a mechanism so that Taiwan and China can join at the same time, to avoid the perception that it is choosing sides, a think tank said

• By Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporter

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to send delegations to member states of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) later this year to solicit support for Taiwan’s accession to the bloc, the ministry said yesterday.

The focus of this year’s bid would be strengthening cooperation with the supply chain in Canada, this year’s chair of the CPTPP, Department of International Cooperation and Economic Affairs Director-General Vivian Lien (連玉蘋) told a regular news briefing.

Earlier this month, Canadian think tank the Institute for Peace and Diplomacy invited Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Kelly Hsieh (謝武樵) to address the Canada-Taiwan Forum on Economic Security, Lien said.

At the forum, several Canadian experts voiced their support for Taiwan’s inclusion in the CPTPP, including Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada president and CEO Jeff Nankivell, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada said.

Next month, Taiwan is to hold a seminar with a Canadian think tank on Taiwan-Canada industrial cooperation on clean fuel, renewable energy, and talent cultivation and innovation, working toward creating a mutually beneficial supply chain, Lien said.

Taiwan’s participation in the CPTPP would help enhance the supply chain resilience of CPTPP members as well as ensure regional and global economic security, she said.

Last year, then-CPTPP chair New Zealand articulated the Auckland Principles to govern accession — aspiring members should meet the high standards of the partnership, uphold their commitments of past trade agreements and be likely to obtain a consensus of CPTPP members.

It is hoped that a working group would be formally launched to manage Taiwan’s bid to join the CPTPP, Lien said, adding that until then, the nation is to continue conducting informal consultations with the pact’s members.

Taiwan would also strive to deepen industrial and academic exchanges and cooperation by working with chambers of commerce, think tanks and academic institutions, she said.

All member states recognize Taiwan as an economy that meets high standards, with Japan and the UK publicly expressing their support for Taiwan’s inclusion in the pact, while other members have stated that they welcome new members that meet the entry criteria, she said.

Taiwan is among the six nations that have submitted a request to join the CPTPP, including China.

Addressing the bids of Taipei and Beijing would be Canada’s responsibility and challenge this year, a report published by the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada said.

While China’s bid might be opposed by members due to its coercive behavior toward Taiwan and “serious shortcomings in its economic readiness,” some might feel reluctant to accept Taiwan without China “to prevent the impression of choosing favorites,” it said.

The report suggested establishing a “strategic partnership” status, a provisional membership, and ensuring it is granted to Taiwan and China at the same time, while outlining “the specific steps each would need to take to achieve full accession,” it said.

Hsieh said in the forum that the applications of Taiwan and China should be processed independently, adding that Taiwan “has prepared ourselves to meet all the high standards of the CPTPP.”