October 12, 2023
No. 340
The second day of meetings at the seventh Yushan Forum were held at the Grand Mayfull Hotel Taipei on October 12. Vice President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) Lai Ching-te attended the morning Prospect Asia Roundtable. In his remarks, he stated that Taiwan had long striven to be a force for good. In particular, in the years of Tsai Ing-wen’s presidency, Taiwan had worked to realize the spirit of “Taiwan helps Asia, Asia helps Taiwan.” Under the New Southbound Policy, Taiwan had successfully promoted mutually beneficial relations with partner countries.
Vice President Lai pointed out that the New Southbound Policy would help create a new blueprint for regional prosperity. Under the people-centered policy, a vision for innovative economic development, social reforms based on justice and sustainability, and a diplomatic strategy guided by democracy and peace would be pursued.
He emphasized that a single person might walk fast, but only a group could go far. Facing such challenges as the rise of authoritarianism, the postpandemic era, the net-zero transformation and digitalization, no nation could stand alone. Only through collaboration could a new Asia characterized by inclusivity and resilient growth be realized.
Speaking during the day’s luncheon, Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan said that the Yushan Forum had continuously grown since its creation in 2017 and was now one of the Indo-Pacific’s most important venues for discussing regional cooperation. This highlighted the importance and forward-looking nature of the New Southbound Policy. The vice premier said he hoped that the policy would become more enmeshed with Indo-Pacific security, as Taiwan’s security equated to Indo-Pacific security. This was not only Taiwan’s pledge to the world, but also the international consensus on the Taiwan Strait.
Alessandro Minuto-Rizzo, former Deputy Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also speaking during the luncheon, stressed that Taiwan was a responsible member of the Indo-Pacific. To ensure global shared interests and prevent an escalation of tensions, Taiwan should be brought into the United Nations and other platforms to deepen exchanges with other countries. He echoed President Tsai Ing-wen’s comment that Taiwan would do its utmost to ensure cross-strait stability and be a force for peace in the Asia-Pacific, stressing that the European Union and NATO were willing to work with Taiwan at many levels and make contributions to ensure regional stability.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien, Chung-kwang hosted a roundtable discussion at which Ivan Kanapathy, former White House National Security Council Deputy Senior Director for Asia Affairs, said that the US Indo-Pacific Strategy drew on former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ideals as well as Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy. He stressed that the pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and supply chain restructuring had highlighted the correctness of the Indo-Pacific Strategy and New Southbound Policy and the need to continue to move forward.
The seventh Yushan Forum was held from October 11 to 12 in Taipei. President of Nauru Russ Joseph Kun, former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, former US Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft, Chairman of the Japan-ROC Diet Members’ Consultative Council Furuya Keiji, US Senior Official for APEC Ambassador Matt Murray, member of the Indian Parliament Sujeet Kumar, former New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser, and former Philippine Secretary of Science and Technology Fortunato T. de la Peña all attended and spoke at the event. The forum was an affirmation of seven years implementing the New Southbound Policy. Through discussions at the event, participants created a new blueprint for Asian development. (E)