Warsaw/Taipei/Beijing: – Taiwan could join the Three Seas Initiative to strengthen ties with Europe, claimed Bartosz Rees, a Polish official in Taiwan. ‘Taiwan is a democratic country, and its economy is booming. This background is conducive for making Taiwan a partner of European countries.’ Bartosz said. A few days ago, the European Parliament decided to strengthen relations with Taiwan.
China has said that all countries have ratified the ‘One China Policy’ and that Taiwan should not be recognised as an independent state. But major powers, including the United States, have ignored the Chinese warnings. The United States appears to have strengthened diplomatic cooperation by opening a ‘de facto embassy’ in Taiwan and organising visits by senior officials and ministers. European countries also seem to have decided to follow suit.
Only last month, Lithuania, a member of the Union, announced steps to improve relations with Taiwan. On that, China had threatened Lithuania. On this issue, the Union stood firmly behind Lithuania and took a stand against China. A few days ago, Poland supplied four lakh Coronavirus vaccines to Taiwan. At the same time, it has also been revealed that Taiwan and Poland have signed more than 20 agreements in the last few years. Both Poland and Lithuania are members of the Three Seas Initiative.
The Three Seas Initiative involves 12 European countries and aims to strengthen cooperation in areas such as energy, technology, trade and investment. The inclusion of Taiwan in the group, which includes Central and Eastern European countries, could be a major blow to China. Earlier, China had tried to win over some European countries through the ’17 Plus 1′ initiative. However, the Chinese initiative is now being criticised, and the Union has also expressed displeasure over it. Against the backdrop of this Chinese failure, the invitation extended to Taiwan by European countries is significant.
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