TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison highlighted the importance of the Australia-Taiwan partnership during a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on National Day (Oct. 10).
Bilateral relations exist at many levels, including people-to-people, economic, and cultural, Morrison said. Both nations also have “a great respect for freedom and democracy,” Morrison said.
The former prime minister vowed that Australia and Australians “will always be great friends with the Taiwanese in supporting their ambitions.” He expressed hope to see a “resilient Taiwan” that is able to deter violence in the region that would undermine Taiwan’s peace and freedom.
Morrison praised Tsai for her pandemic prevention efforts during COVID, saying that their accomplishments during that time “is something both the people of Taiwan and Tsai can be deeply proud of.” “Taiwan was a world standout,” he added.
Tsai pointed out that since the 2020 Australia-US ministerial consultations, Australia has frequently reiterated the importance of stability across the Taiwan Strait in statements following high-level meetings with other nations. When meeting with an Australia parliamentary delegation last month, everyone agreed that “safeguarding a stable sustainable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region is a common goal for Taiwan and Australia,” she said, expressing gratitude for their support.
The president said Taiwan and Australia are “very well matched” when it comes to the areas of economics and trade. Last year, bilateral trade reached a record high, she said.
Tsai pointed out that the two nations engage in close cooperation in energy, minerals, agriculture, and biotechnology. She said she hoped to see deeper bilateral cooperation and pledged to work with Australia and other like-minded nations to continue bolstering security cooperation and jointly uphold regional freedom and prosperity.
Morrison’s visit comes as Taiwan has pushed for Canberra’s support in its bid for membership in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
In an ABC News interview last month, Taiwan representative to Australia Douglas Hsu (徐佑典) said that Taiwan has been in contact with CPTPP member states to update them on its efforts to meet the standards of the trade pact. “We want all the CPTPP members to consider next applications based on the ability of an applicant to fulfill the commitments under the CPTPP, instead of any political consideration,” Hsu said.
