Marshals recognises

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Marshals recognises Taiwan; PRC hails ant

By Giff Johnson

Majuro - The

Marshall Islands effort to launch and maintain a “two- China” policy turned out to be short lived, though flags of both the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan were, for a week, flying near ly across the street from each other in Majuro in early December.

But by December 11, three weeks after Marshalls Foreign Minister Phillip Muller and his Taiwan counterpart Jason Hu had formally agreed to diplomatic relations in Taipei, the PRC announced it had broken off diplomatic links with the Marshalls and was closing its Embassy.

Despite the diplomatic controversy between China and Taiwan, the just opened link with Taiwan is producing a flurry of business and government activity for the Marshall Islands.

Just two and a half weeks after ties were formalized, Taiwan opened a new embassy in Majuro.

A trade delegation of Taiwan govern ment and business officials arrived in mid- December to explore investment possibili ties, while preparations are being made for President Imata Kabua to make a state visit to the Republic of China in early 1999.

These are among the initial develop ments. “We’re moving really fast,”

Muller said. “We want to show tangible results.”

Diplomatic relations with Taiwan were established because “the social and eco nomic well being of the Marshall Islands takes priority over everything else,” he said.

“Our government is looking at ways to bring up the country economically.

Relations with the Republic of China offer a good opportunity for growth.”

Only three other Pacific nations - Nauru, Tuvalu and the Solomon Islands -

have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, Leo Fu tien Liu, the director general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Guam who opened Taiwan’s Embassy in Majuro this week.

The new relations provide the founda tion for development of many opportuni ties between the two countries, he said adding that ROC government agencies and private sector companies will “pay a lot of attention to the Marshall Islands,” which is now among only 27 countries that have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, he said.

Muller said that establishment of diplo matic ties with Taiwan will lead to a wide range of cooperation between the two nations.

An “investment plan” will be set in motion shortly that will explore buying and management of hotels, development of eco-tourism facilities in the remote outer islands, and investments and other assis tance in marine resources and agriculture.

The Marshalls has, for some time, been trying to attract buyers for the government financed, Outrigger Resorts-run 150 room hotel that was opened two and a half years ago.

The Taiwanese government has also agreed to open its lending institutions to both government and private businesses, and will consider opening a commercial bank in the Marshall Islands.

“Taiwan is interested to make money available and be a partner in develop ment,” Muller said.

The two governments also reached “an understanding” under which Taiwan has agreed to participate in developing the government’s new trust fund, although Muller declined to be specific about amounts of funding that Taiwan will assist with. Muller said that people should expect “a lot of economic activity” during the next six-to-eight months, as the rela tionship with Taiwan moves into high gear.

The People’s Republic of China, how ever, is enraged by the Marshalls’ diplo

matic link with Taiwan.

The Marshalls downplayed the prob lem, saying the move was not intended to slight the People’s Republic of China.

“We want to be friends (with the PRC), and strengthen relations,” Muller said. But that didn’t placate the PRC.

When PRC Ambassador Zhou Lianyi met with Muller in early December, he repeated his statements to the media that the Marshalls “must correct its mistake” and withdraw recognition of Taiwan.

Diplomatic relations with Taiwan “openly sabotaged” the one-China princi pal which the Marshalls agreed to when it approved diplomatic relations with the PRC in 1990, Lianyi said.

When it became clear, however, that the Marshalls was not going to go back on its new relations with Taiwan, the PRC made its exit. PRC officials said that a “caretak er” staff will be brought in to look after the closed embassy.

The break-off of relations “immediate ly stopped the implementation of all agree ments between the two governments,”

Lianyi said, adding that the “the Marshallese side must bear full responsi bility for all the consequences arising” from the “reversal of relations.”

The country’s opposition senators are divided on the subject, with some lauding the economic and business benefit that relations will bring to the country.

Other opposition members are highly critical that the Nitijela (parliament) was n’t informed in advance of the move.

“Where’s our consistency in foreign policy?” asked former Cabinment Minister Christopher Loeak.

The government had agreed to recog nize only the PRC when it approved diplo matic relations with China in 1990.

Now it’s gone back on that agreement despite the fact that the PRC “is one of the great supporters of the Marshall Islands.”

But Muller counters that the Marshall Islands needed to look after its economic interests, which relations with Taiwan will benefit.

Moreover, the dispute between China and Taiwan is an internal matter that the Marshalls doesn’t want to get involved in, preferring to be friendly with both coun tries. ■ “We’re being proactive and grabbing an opportunity for our country,” he said. “Our priority is economic development and revi talizing our economy.” ■