Taiwan will not join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) if the treatment it receives is degrading and undermines its status as a sovereignty nation.
Taiwan’s top China policymaker, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), made the comments on Tuesday. Just a day earlier, Beijing announced the AIIB’s articles of association. According to one of the rules, an applicant who “does not enjoy sovereignty or cannot take responsibility for its international relations” can join via an AIIB member who can take responsibility for the applicant.
China sees Taiwan as part of its territory, even though the two sides have been ruled separately for more than 60 years. The AIIB rules complicated Taiwan’s bid because it is likely that Taiwan will have to apply for membership through China.
Taiwan’s MAC said that the country will not accept any demeaning designations and would give up its bid in order to protect national dignity.
The AIIB is a Chinese-led multilateral fund that is seen as a counterweight to the US-led World Bank and the Japan-led Asian Development Bank. On Monday, delegates from 57 countries signed an agreement on the AIIB, in Beijing.