Friday, March 22, 2013

What Diplomatic Truce?

Students sell popsicles to raise money for clubs.

China continues to try to squeeze Taiwan's international space:
A Taiwanese delegation was forced to withdraw from the third Jakarta International Defense Dialogue (JIDD) without being given an explanation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs deputy spokesman Calvin Ho (何震寰) said yesterday.

Ho said that the ministry has already instructed the Taipei Economic and Trade Office in Jakarta to demand an explanation from the Indonesian government, which was hosting the conference, soon after the four-member delegation was informed that it could not attend the summit.

The ministry made the comments following a report yesterday in the British newspapaer the Financial Times, which said that China was behind the abrupt cancellation of Taiwan’s invitation to attend the summit that began yesterday and revolved around the theme: “Defense and Diplomacy in the Asia-Pacific Region.”
Ma's "diplomatic truce" has done nothing for this aspect of Taiwan's diplomacy. The event was not without a certain irony....
Representative to Indonesia Andrew Hsia (夏立言) said Taipei was “not pleased” with the incident.

“This [conference] is about security in the region [and] certainly we are one of the major players in the region,” Hsia was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
A friend pointed out in an internet discussion that Andrew Hsia, Taiwan's current rep to Indonesia, was Ma's point man for explaining the "flexible diplomacy" that underpinned the "diplomatic truce". Hsia was one of the casualties of the Ma government's incompetent and malicious approach to handling the Morakot disaster.
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3 comments:

MJ Klein said...

why is everyone so afraid of China? so China tells Indonesia to dis-invite Taiwan "or else." or else what? China wont' sell them any more junk? what is China threatening other countries with, exactly?

Anonymous said...

And it's only going to get worse, no?

Jerome Besson said...

While Washington muddles through its policy of strategic ambiguity,
1) China inserts itself in the Taiwan sovereignty issue, an internal affair of the U.S..
2) China infringes on Japan’s internationally recognized control over the Senkakus.
3) Inserting itself in the Senkakus issue, Chinese Taipei flaunts the US-Japan security alliance that protects Taiwan.

Prior to poking their nose in the Senkakus, Chinese Taipei and assimilated “people on Taiwan” would do well showing us treaties backing their claim to the sovereignty of Taiwan.

Without the sovereignty of Taiwan, on what ground do they involve themselves in the Senkakus issue or any debate on regional security?

The ROC is long dead. Taiwan is a geographic area. The 7th fleet, US armed forces in Japan and the JSDF are in charge of the security of Taiwan.

Taiwanese should not be conscripted in the armed forces of their occupier. Said occupier being also a governement whose exiled status put it on par with the Tibetan government in Dharamsala, one wonders whether they should be allowed at all to keep their armed forces on foreign territory.