Lin Chia-lung was invited for meetings and side events held alongside the forum. Taiwan is not a formal dialogue partner of the forum like China, but a development partner. The US, EU, Britain, Canada, India and Japan are also among the 21 dialogue partners of the forum.
China has gradually whittled away the number of Pacific Island countries with formal ties to Taipei, with only three remaining – Palau, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands.
The leaders of Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Kiribati did not attend the gathering of the 18-member group that counts Australia, New Zealand and Pacific island nations as members. Ministers are attending in their place.
Though China is Australia’s largest trading partner, Canberra remains wary of Beijing’s expanding influence in the Pacific and has stepped up security and development ties with island nations to deter any permanent Chinese military presence in the region.
Australia, New Zealand and the United States have long considered the South Pacific to fall within their sphere of influence.
In the latest sign of that effort, New Zealand and the US, in a joint statement released on Tuesday during the summit, said they would jointly fund a major upgrade of a World War Two port on a Cook Islands’ atoll.
Read the full article here
