Taiwan to expedite Singapore pact talks

Quoting unidentified “authoritative sources,” a local media outlet reported that Ma will make a transit stop en route to visiting Taiwan's African allies in January 2011 in order to meet with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang also said in Taipei the report was incorrect, saying that Ma's overseas travel plans for the coming year have not been finalized.

“Even if the president does indeed visit Africa next year, there are many routes available to reach the destinations,” Yang said, adding that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) will make a choice based on the principles of convenience and comfort.

“President Ma has expressed the hope of visiting all of our allies during his term in office and the MOFA will arrange for him to visit our African allies at the appropriate time,” Yang said. “Next year should be good timing,” he said, but the schedule has yet to be finalized.

Pact with Philippines

In Manila, a senior Philippine trade official said the Philippine government will not rule out the possibility of negotiating a free trade pact with Taiwan, even though it only officially recognizes China under its “one-China” policy,

Ramon Vicente T. Kabigting, assistant secretary of the Philippines Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), revealed that a similar deal with Taiwan is under consideration.

He said it would be ideal if the Philippines and Taiwan could forge closer economic and trade ties as Taiwan is a major export market and an important source of foreign investment, Kabigting told a Philippine TV station.

Though the Philippines follows a “one-China” policy, it has always considered Taiwan a major trade partner, Kabigting said, and he believed that a landmark trade deal recently signed by Taiwan and China and Thursday's announcement between Taiwan and Singapore for securing a trade agreement would make it easier for the Philippines to follow suit.

A local official, who declined to be identified, confirmed that economic and trade officials from the Philippines and Taiwan exchanged views on signing a free trade agreement (FTA), on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting in Japan from Aug. 5-6.

Before the new administration of Filipino President Benigno Aquino III took office on June 30, economic authorities from the Philippines had already expressed an interest in signing a trade deal with Taiwan.

Earlier this year, Jesli A. Lapus, the former DTI secretary, said that the Philippine government hopes to upgrade the existing memorandum of cooperation on the Subic-Clark-Kaohsiung economic corridor to a national level FTA.

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