TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday (Nov. 17) his government was unlikely to support Taiwan’s bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) as the trade group was only for recognized nation-states.

Taiwan filed its application to join the 11-member bloc in September last year, with several countries, including Japan, expressing support for its plans.

Albanese made the statement in the margin of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Bangkok, which is open to “economies” including Taiwan. His comments met with criticism from the opposition, Australian broadcaster ABC reported.

The timing of the prime minister’s statement just three days after a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平) also provoked suspicion, with Taiwanese reporters at the APEC event following Albanese around asking him whether the two were keeping in touch, per the Liberty Times.

Both the Australian opposition and Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) rejected the notion that the CPTPP was only open to internationally recognized states, saying the organization’s text about membership mentioned “states or separate customs territories” as potential members.

MOFA said it had asked the Australian government to clarify its position in order to avoid any misunderstandings, adding that Australia should “encourage” and “facilitate” nations like Taiwan to join the CPTPP. Later Friday evening, MOFA said Australia had indeed clarified that its position on Taiwan and others striving to become CPTPP members had not changed.