TAIWAN WORKING TO MAINTAIN POSITION IN THE SOUTH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TAIPEI 001483

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/28/2017
TAGS: PREL TW
SUBJECT: TAIWAN WORKING TO MAINTAIN POSITION IN THE SOUTH
PACIFIC IN THE FACE OF DIPLOMATIC PRESSURE FROM BEIJING

REF: A. TAIPEI 01365


B. TAIPEI 01363

Classified By: AIT Deputy Director Robert S. Wang,
Reasons: 1.4 (b/d)


1. (C) Summary: Reacting to Beijing's growing activism in
the South Pacific, Taiwan is moving to enhance multilateral
as well as bilateral cooperation with its six diplomatic
partners in the region. Taipei hopes that its second Pacific
Allies Summit, planned for October in the Marshall Islands,
will deepen this regional approach and help prevent its
partners from switching diplomatic recognition to Beijing.
Taiwan is also stepping up bilateral trade, humanitarian, and
security cooperation with partners like the Solomon Islands
and Marshall Islands, and it is working to increase its
unofficial foothold in some other island states where it does
not have formal relations, such as Fiji. End Summary.

A Regional Approach to Cooperation
--------------


2. (C) Feeling increasing pressure from Beijing's growing
activism in the South Pacific, Taiwan is moving to enhance
multilateral and bilateral cooperation with its six
diplomatic partners in the region. Taiwan brought together
its Pacific Island allies (Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru,
Palau, Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu) in September 2006 for the
first Taiwan-Pacific Summit in Palau. Participants signed a
declaration on strengthening regional cooperation on trade,
economic development, good governance, and law enforcement
and security issues. A Ministerial Conference on the
Environment, focused on promoting the use of
environment-friendly electricity generation technology, was
held on the sidelines of the summit. MOFA Section Chief for
Pacific Island Affairs Wang Chiang told AIT that Taiwan hopes
through such summits to move away from a bilateral focus on
humanitarian aid and toward a more regional focus on building
multilateral relationships and strengthening health and trade
initiatives.


3. (C) This year's summit, planned for October in the
Marshall Islands, seeks to enhance Taiwan's relations with
its partners and counter Beijing's recent inroads in the
region which included the holding of competing summits with
the PRC's South Pacific partners. According to MOFA, Taiwan
also hopes its multilateral efforts will complement
initiatives generated by Japanese and French summits in the
region. Wang noted that Japanese officials had briefed
Taiwan's representative in Tokyo last year about their own
Pacific Summit proceedings.


4. (C) Wang characterized Taiwan's ties with its Pacific
partners as stable, but expressed concern about possible
"encroachments" by the PRC, especially in the Republic of the
Marshall Islands (RMI) and Palau, two countries that Beijing
is working hard to take away from Taipei. The current RMI
President reportedly accepted money from Beijing when he was
running for office and pledged to recognize Beijing, but so
far Taipei has managed to keep the RMI on its side. Taiwan
also faces intense competition in the Solomon Islands (SI).
According to Wang, Beijing has been making cash payments to
members of the opposition there in exchange for their support
of its "one-China principle."

Enhancing Ties to Solomon and Marshall Islands
-------------- -


5. (C) Working hard to shore up its relations with the
Solomon Islands and Marshall Islands in the face of PRC
pressure, Taiwan has proven unable to "say no" to requests
from its partners for security and law-enforcement related
training. MOFA Director-General for East Asia and Pacific

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Affairs Donald Lee recently underscored to AIT that Taipei is
committed to improving its oversight of assistance and other
programs in the South Pacific, particularly the practice of
directing "grassroots" funds to parliamentarians. Suggesting
that the decision to include law enforcement training on the
agenda of last year's Palau Summit came from Taipei's allies,
Lee argued that when states like the SI ask for such
training, Taipei cannot "turn a friend away."


6. (C) Solomon Islands Ambassador Beraki Jino told AIT that
economic cooperation between Taiwan and the SI has increased
in recent years. The fishing and tourism industries are the
mainstays, but Jino noted Honiara is unhappy with current
fishing licensing arrangements that allow Taiwan fishers to
profit handsomely while only paying "nominal" access fees to
the SI. Jino said that the SI and its Pacific neighbors also
think that Taiwan should do more to strengthen multilateral
regional integration. Jino noted that the Pacific Island
Forum (PIF) secretariat will be sending a consultant to
Taiwan in late June to discuss ways Taipei can promote trade
development and regional integration, including tourism,
trade, and banking.


7. (C) Jino pointed out that the SI government will be
strengthening oversight of the "grassroots" funding Taiwan
has traditionally distributed directly to rural
constituencies by sending 50 supervisors to legislative
districts to monitor the distribution of the funds and
account for results. Jino expressed hope this new approach
would minimize corruption by parliamentarians. Jino also
noted that under pressure from Australia, Taipei has dropped
firearms training for SI police detailed to protect PM
Sogavare. The training program, initiated at Honiara's
request, has already sent 19 of the 50 officers assigned to
the PM for 2-3 weeks of training by Taiwan's National
Security Bureau. Jino noted that the SI and Taiwan are
discussing changes to the current law enforcement training
agreements, which include plans to train SI Coast Guard. The
current training period on Taiwan is "too short," Jino said,
and the SI hopes to arrange for longer stints for its law
enforcement officials at Taiwan's training academies.


8. (C) In the Marshall Islands, Taipei has been focusing its
efforts on humanitarian assistance and trade promotion. ICDF
Policy and Planning Director Yen-Shin Chou told AIT that
Taiwan will establish a permanent medical field center
staffed and funded by Taiwan in the Marshall Islands. The
field center is intended to serve as a hub for providing
medical assistance to all six Pacific allies. Chou argued
that from a "purely assistance development" point of view,
such a project creates only more dependence on Taiwan rather
than promoting a permanent solution to the region's medical
problems. Nevertheless, Chou suggested that Taiwan's concern
to shore up relations with the RMI overrides these
"theoretical" considerations.

Fiji - Taiwan Connection
--------------


9. (C) In the wake of last year's coup in Fiji, which
recognizes Beijing but maintains close unofficial relations
with Taipei, Taiwan officials have assured AIT that Taipei is
not taking any steps that would undermine the international
sanctions imposed on the regime (Reftels). ICDF and MOFA
officials say humanitarian programs continue at pre-coup
levels, but no new initiatives or projects will be launched.
The sanctions, however, are putting the Fiji Trade and
Tourism Office (FTTO) in Taipei under pressure to expand
trade and business ties with Taiwan's private sector. FTTO
Acting Representative James Weng told AIT last week he flew
to Seoul recently to meet with the Fiji Foreign Minister to
discuss possible ways to strengthen trade and investment
links between Taiwan and Fiji. Weng said his office is now

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under pressure to produce results "as quickly as possible"
and noted he would be organizing a trade delegation to drum
up investment in the Fiji tourism and fishing industries
later this year. Although Taiwan-Fiji trade is just under
USD 10 million, Weng projects strong growth in the coming
years. Despite the coup in Suva, Weng noted tourism to Fiji
from Taiwan continues to grow at about a 50 percent a year.


10. (C) As an indication that Taipei continues to court Suva
in hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough, Weng noted that Taiwan
has invited Fiji to send a representative to attend this
year's Taiwan-Pacific Allies Summit in the Marshall Islands.
Last year Taipei made a similar invitation, Weng recalled,
and Fiji sent its Minister of Tourism despite objections by
Beijing. Weng expects Fiji to send a larger delegation this
year as it seeks to break out of its "isolation."

Comment
--------------


11. (C) Taipei hopes its new regional approach to the
Pacific will help it to maintain diplomatic recognitions in
the face of Beijing's growing activism in the region.
Venturing to provide law enforcement and coast guard training
in the SI and perhaps other island states, however, opens up
defense and security cooperation as another possible arena
for competition between Taipei and Beijing. The fierce
battle for recognition between Beijing and Taipei is a
complicating factor for U.S. and other international efforts
to promote stability and support good governance in this
politically fragile part of the world.
YOUNG