Taiwan to Attend Pacific Islands Forum as US, China Seek to Strengthen Connections in Region

Taiwan Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang will attend the upcoming Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) in Tonga, the ministry said Sunday, following the U.S. State Department’s announcement that Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell would attend the forum to promote U.S.–Pacific strategic partnership goals. PIF is comprised of 18 member nations: Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. Its next meeting is scheduled for Aug. 26 to 30. In this region of the Pacific, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been advancing its connections economically, while in other areas it has increased its military presence and aggression, prompting the United States to make a priority of keeping the peace. These Pacific island nations could offer a strategic advantage to either China or the United States, as they form a chain that historically held military bases for Western nations and could aid or slow the United States from reaching nations like Taiwan and the Philippines where the Chinese military has advanced....