UPDATE (11:30 p.m.): A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson confirmed to Taiwan News on Sunday (June 25) that the Australian Office in Taipei maintains contact with Taiwan government authorities, specifically through the Office's Director of Strategic Affairs, a position created in 2022. Taiwan's foreign ministry also said that Taiwan's representatives in Australia maintain contact with Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on issues of regional security. It also expressed gratitude to the Albanese government for its reiteration of the importance of peace in the Taiwan Strait.
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) has told Australian media that he would like an Australian military officer stationed in the country’s representative office in Taipei to liaise with Taiwan’s security agencies.
In a report published in The Australian on Sunday (June 25), Wu said that both he and President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) want an Australian military officer in Taipei. “I think it is very important when the Australian government is paying so much more attention to the regional security issues for the two countries to be able to share their observations, their assessment of the situation,” Wu said.
Wu also said the Australian Office in Taipei (Australia’s de-facto embassy in Taiwan) has already started speaking to Taiwan security agencies to “understand perspectives on how to prevent the worst from happening.” The office was not available for comment at the time of publishing, and Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has yet to respond to a request for comment.
Wu said that Taiwan would also like to send a military attache to its own de-facto embassy in the Australian capital of Canberra, but he said the decision is up to the Australian government. “I think it is very important for us to have somebody who can speak on behalf of the security agencies over here, especially (Taiwan’s) Ministry of National Defense, so that we can have a systematic or institutionalized way of engaging with each other and for information sharing, assessment sharing, things like that,” he said.
The article quoted an anonymous source that said Taiwanese officials were disappointed with the Australian government’s lack of progress on the proposed military exchange, which is handled by DFAT.
Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu speaks to Israeli media in May. (CNA photo)
Wu also said he welcomed recent calls from the Australian Prime Minister to China to work with the U.S. to reduce military tensions. “Australia always stresses the importance of regional peace and stability, and also opposes unilateral change of the status quo and, at the same time, supports Taiwan’s international participation,” he said.
“The Australian government under the leadership of Prime Minister Albanese, his policies towards Taiwan, have been appreciated by the Taiwanese people," Wu added.
According to a public opinion survey released by the Sydney-based Lowy Institute on June 21, 64% of Australians view the prospect of a military conflict between the U.S. and China over Taiwan as a critical threat. This response comes after a highly publicized series of reports in the Australian media that suggested the need to prepare for war between Australia and China within the next three years.
Despite this, the chief of the Australian Defence Force did not mention Taiwan or a potential military conflict with China in an April address discussing Australia’s security environment. In addition, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, speaking in June about the Taiwan Strait, said that conflict is neither imminent nor inevitable.
Wu agreed with Austin, saying, “It is the same assessment here in Taiwan. The way we see the Chinese preparations is that it is not imminent. And we also think that it can be avoided.”
Chinese officials and President Xi Jinping (習近平) have repeatedly said that peaceful unification with Taiwan is the preferred outcome, but they have also stressed that China will never renounce the use of force to achieve its goals.
