The Philippines has issued a memorandum circular relaxing restrictions on government officials' exchanges with Taiwan. In a Monday press release, Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) affirmed the pragmatic efforts to promote Taiwan-Philippines relations, stating that the new regulations will help deepen substantive cooperation between the two countries.
The Memorandum Circular No. 82 eases restrictions on official Philippine exchanges with Taiwan set in 1989 by then-President Corazon Aquino. Under the new regulations, except for the president, vice president, foreign minister, and defense minister, other government officials can travel to Taiwan for economic, trade, and investment purposes using ordinary passports and without using official titles.
As current Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has repeatedly underscored, order and security in the Taiwan Strait are a top priority. Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry emphasized that Taiwan is the Philippines' eighth-largest export market, ninth-largest trading partner, and tenth-largest source of imports. It added that Taiwan will continue to work with the Philippines and other democratic allies to contribute to regional prosperity, peace, and stability.