US, Taiwan to team up on infrastructure projects in Indo-Pacific, officials say
- Plan will support ‘quality infrastructure in emerging markets’, America’s de facto embassy in Taipei says
- Island’s foreign minister says scheme dovetails America’s Indo-Pacific strategy with its ‘New Southbound Policy’
Beijing denies this.
The de facto US embassy in Taipei said the new plan would support “quality infrastructure in emerging markets”, while Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said it dovetailed America’s Indo-Pacific strategy with Taipei’s “New Southbound Policy”.
The latter aims to boost economic ties with Southeast and South Asia, to cut the island’s reliance on mainland China.
“The Taiwan-US cooperative partnership relationship has gone up another level,” Wu said.
There were no immediate details of the volume of funding or investment projects, however.
The plan sets up a working group led by the US treasury department and Taiwan’s finance ministry to identify and promote public and private sector collaboration in infrastructure investment.
Brent Christensen, the top US official in Taiwan, said the pact, known as the Framework to Strengthen Infrastructure Finance and Market Building Cooperation, would offer a platform to promote more resilient supply chains in the Indo-Pacific.
The working group is due to hold its first meeting this autumn, he said.
No sign Beijing is preparing attack on Taiwan – but we will be ready if they do: defence chief
Like most countries, the United States has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan but is the self-ruled island’s most important international backer and main source of arms, to Beijing’s anger.
Taiwan has also been keen to wean its economy off the mainland, especially as Beijing steps up efforts at military intimidation against the island.
