President Tsai Ing-wen (???) took to social media Thursday to express hope that Japan will support Taiwan’s application to join the Tokyo-led international trade bloc.
“We wish to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and are ready to accept all the rules,” Tsai tweeted in Japanese, without elaborating on what those rules may be.
It is hoped that Japan will support Taiwan’s application, she said, adding that her administration has been preparing to join the accord for the past five years.
“I am confident that our membership in this deal would strengthen joint economic development & benefit people across the region & the world,” she said in another tweet in English.
In a Facebook post later that day, Tsai stressed that Taiwan’s economy and trade will greatly benefit by joining the CPTPP.
Taiwan’s trade with the bloc’s 11 signatories in 2020 accounted for approximately 25 percent of the country’s total trade last year, and some of the bloc’s members, including Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam, are among Taiwan’s top 10 trading partners, she said.
In response to one of Tsai’s tweets, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said President Tsai has demonstrated her administration’s determination to join the CPTPP, adding that it is extremely important for Japan to support Taiwan’s bid.
Taiwan formally submitted its application to join the CPTPP on Wednesday, a move that has been welcomed by the Japanese government, according to Japanese media.
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, who is currently visiting New York, told reporters Thursday that his country welcomes Taiwan’s application for CPTPP membership, and will respond to it based on “a strategic point of view” and “with public understanding,” Kyodo News reported.
The minister added that Japan will have to examine whether Taiwan is ready to meet the high-standard market access and other rules that make up the CPTPP, the report said.
Meanwhile, a Japanese business group that represents 500 Japanese enterprises in Taiwan, expressed strong support for Taiwan’s participation in the CPTPP in a press statement Thursday.
The Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Taipei urged the Japanese government, which is also the CPTPP chair this year, to provide support for Taiwan in its bid for CPTPP membership, the statement said.
However, Taiwan’s application came less than one week after China applied for membership of the trade pact, leading the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) to ask whether the decision was rushed because of China.
At a press event on Thursday to announce Taiwan’s plan, John Deng (???), head of the Cabinet’s Office of Trade Negotiations, did not say why the government waited until this week to apply for CPTPP membership.
However, he did note that if China joins the trade bloc first, it will pose a major obstacle for Taiwan, because the Chinese government could oppose its membership.
Later the same day, Zhao Lijian (???), a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a press briefing that Beijing strongly opposes any attempt by Taiwan to join any accord or organization of an official nature.
China sees Taiwan as part of its territory and objects to any actions that it perceives as treating Taiwan as a separate country or encouraging its formal independence.
However, Taiwan still needs to clear other hurdles to join the CPTPP, which went into effect in December 2018.
They include dealing with Taiwan’s decade-long ban on Japanese food from areas affected by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant disaster of March 11, 2011.
While Japan has urged Taiwan to lift the ban, Taiwan’s governments have long put the issue aside due to strong domestic opposition.
Commenting on the issue, Deng said the government will “definitely need to face the issue once the Japanese side asks us to lift the ban.”
In addition, any new member of CPTPP requires the unanimous approval of all 11 members.
Nevertheless, the government considers the application an important step forward in the country’s pursuit of greater trade opportunities and foreign inbound investment, Premier Su Tseng-chang (???) said Thursday during a Cabinet meeting.
“Taiwan cannot remain isolated from the world and must integrate itself into the regional economy,” Su added.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel