Taiwan bullish, can’t wait for Apec meet in Manila

TAIPEI—Taiwan is upbeat about the Philippines’ hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meetings as it is keen on holding talks on the sidelines with the participating economies to pursue greater cooperation.

Eugene Chen, chief secretary at the Bureau of Foreign Trade of Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, made the assertion in a briefing here Tuesday, after he was asked about Taiwan’s outlook for this year’s Apec meetings in the Philippines in November.

“This is very important, and I know the Philippine government plays an important role to promote more cooperation within the region,” Chen told an international group of visiting journalists.

“And Taiwan always seeks to develop good trade and economic relations with other countries. It’s very important that we continue to do this kind of thing,” he added.

Taiwan is a member economy of Apec, the 21-member organization of Pacific Rim nations, where it is known as Chinese Taipei.

China, however, considers Taiwan a breakaway province. While Taiwan asserts its right to independent representation in international organizations, it is developing cross-strait ties with China.

The Philippines, meanwhile, observes a one-China policy, managing its relations with Taiwan through the Manila Economic and Cultural Office, and not the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Looking forward to the Apec meetings, Chen said Taiwan was anticipating talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a proposed free trade agreement currently being negotiated by 12 Pacific nations.

The countries in the talks are the United States, which has been strongly pushing for the agreement, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.