Taiwan, US agree to hold regular talks on coastguard cooperation
- They have formed a working group to improve communication and share information on maritime security in the region
- Local media said the two sides could hold joint drills near the island, but Taiwan’s coastguard denied the reports
“The United States supports Taiwan’s meaningful participation and contribution to issues of global concern, including in maritime security and safety and in building networks to facilitate maritime law enforcement information exchange and international cooperation,” the American Institute in Taiwan said in a statement after the meeting.
The AIT – the de facto US embassy in Taipei – said the two sides had discussed ways to “improve joint maritime responses to search and rescue, disaster relief, and environmental missions, as well as opportunities to improve communication and continue personnel educational exchanges”.
They also discussed work on the common objectives of preserving maritime resources; reducing illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing; and joint maritime search and rescue and environmental response efforts, the statement said.
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And they agreed to meet regularly to coordinate on pressing maritime law enforcement and assistance concerns. “The global community faces many shared challenges that are not limited by land or sea borders, and the [working group] is emblematic of the collaboration required of like-minded partners to overcome increasingly complex transnational problems,” the statement said.