Taiwan Urges Visiting Australian Lawmakers to Back Pacific Trade Pact Membership Bid

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen arrives at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., on April 5, 2023. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen urged Australia to back Taiwan’s bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) during a visit by Australian lawmakers.

Ms. Tsai on Sept. 26 met with a cross-party delegation of six Australian lawmakers who are on a four-day visit to Taiwan, aiming to deepen Australia’s relations with the self-ruling island.

During the meeting, Ms. Tsai said she seeks to bolster economic cooperation with Australia, recognizing Australia as Taiwan’s largest energy provider and a major source of agricultural goods.

“We also hope that the Australian government and parliament will support Taiwan’s accession to the CPTPP to jointly promote economic growth and sustainable development throughout the Indo-Pacific region,” she said, according to her office.

Ms. Tsai also thanked Australia for voicing the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait in major international gatherings and supporting Taiwan’s international participation.

“In recent years, Australia has continued to play an important role in upholding peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific,” she said. “For Taiwan and Australia, safeguarding a free and open Indo-Pacific is a common goal.”

The visit comes as Australia has been working at recalibrating its relationship with China, which had been tense in recent years over disputes on the origin of COVID-19. In response, China imposed tariff barriers on several Australian exports, such as barley.

The CPTPP is a free trade agreement that creates a beneficial trade zone between 12 countries: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, and the United Kingdom.

First formed in 2018, it is worth $203 billion (about $131.7 billion) in two-way trade to Australia. Currently, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) states that the GDP of the trading bloc is $11.8 trillion and represents 14.2 percent of world trade.

The bloc has received applications from both Taiwan and China. However, membership to the bloc is a long process and does require unanimous agreement from all member nations.

CPTPP Not a ‘Political Mechanism’

Beijing views Taiwan as part of its territory, even though the island nation has been a self-governing democracy and has never been ruled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The CCP opposes Taiwan’s participation in any international organization, including the CPTPP.

Douglas Hsu, Taiwan’s chief representative to Australia, has called on member nations of the CPTPP not to include “political considerations” when assessing Taiwan’s application to join the trade bloc.

“I think my role here is to make sure that we want all the CPTPP members to consider the next applications … based on the ability of applicants to fulfill commitments under the CPTPP, instead of any political considerations,” he told ABC News on Aug. 29.

“After all, CPTPP is an economic and trade mechanism, not a political mechanism,” Mr. Hsu added.

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arrives at Hiroshima airport in Mihara, Hiroshima prefecture, to attend the first day of the G7 Leaders' Summit in Japan on May 19, 2023. Philip Fong/AFP via Getty Images

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese suggested last year that he may not support Taipei’s bid to join the trade bloc because Taiwan is not a “recognized” nation. His government later clarified that it is open to all economies that meet the criteria, including Taiwan.

Taiwan’s top trade negotiator, John Deng, said that he could not imagine Australia, which he said was a champion of trade liberalization since the 1980s, would compromise on Taipei’s application in the face of pressure from Beijing.

“I cannot imagine Australia will compromise ... That would be such a big change from (Australia’s) past 40, 50 years (of) practice and policy,” he told The Australian in May.

“Australia is one of the leaders in the international trade community. They are a strong advocate for the rules-based (trade order). Everybody knows, in the WTO, Australia is one of the leaders. So we hope that they can continue this spirit and consider Taiwan’s case.”

Victoria Kelly-Clark and The Associated Press contributed to this report.