TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – As President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) prepares to visit three allies in the Pacific, the nation’s top intelligence chief has been traveling in the region to pave the way, reports said Friday (Nov. 22).
The Presidential Office said that Lai’s first overseas tour since his inauguration in May would include the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, and Palau. The Nov. 30-Dec. 6 trip is also expected to feature stopovers in United States territories such as Guam or the state of Hawaii, but no details have been revealed yet.
Ahead of the trip, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) visited the three Pacific allies to prepare the security aspects, per CNA. In the Marshall Islands, he told President Hilda Heine that both countries faced similar new security threats, the NSB said. Tsai suggested they should launch a platform for systematic exchanges of information and the promotion of concrete cooperation.
As Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. was attending the COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan, Finance Minister Kaleb Udui Jr. met with Tsai. During the recent presidential elections, Palau experienced cyber attacks from China, so the NSB said it was willing to help its Pacific ally strengthen the resilience of its internet.
In Tuvalu, Tsai met Deputy Prime Minister Panapasi Nelesoni, who expressed concern about growing Chinese influence in the region. Taiwan and Tuvalu agreed to exchange more information in order to monitor regional developments, according to the NSB.