The Foreign Ministry says Taiwan may still be able to join the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework in the future. That came from Deputy Foreign Minister James Tien during a legislative hearing on Wednesday.
Proposed by US President Joe Biden, the framework was launched last Monday to “increase engagement” in the Indo-Pacific Region. Last Sunday, White House Official Jake Sullivan said that Taiwan was not going to be part of the new initiative.
During Wednesday’s hearing, DPP Legislator Wen Yu-hsia asked Tien about the state of Taiwan-US relations now that Taiwan had been left out of the framework. Tien says that Taiwan-US ties remain steady, and that Taiwan’s exclusion from the initiative was expected. He says that Taiwan and the US share a special relationship. Exclusion from the framework won’t change that.
Tien says that Taiwan still could join the initiative in the future. He emphasized that US State Secretary Antony Blinken said the economic framework is an open platform.