Seminar “Cross-Strait relations and New Zealand’s role in the Indo-Pacific”

March 6th 2024

On Wednesday, March 6th, 2024, the Taiwan Center for Security Studies (TCSS) welcomed a delegation from the Asia New Zealand Foundation to discuss “Cross-Strait Relations and New Zealand’s Role in the Indo-Pacific”. Mr. Jason Young, Director of the New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre at Victoria University of Wellington, and Ms. Renee Bates, Deputy Director of the New Zealand Commerce and Industry Office in Taipei, joined the discussion along with 10 scholars and experts from both countries.

Dr. Fu-Kuo Liu, Director of TCSS delivered the opening remarks to welcome friends and colleagues from New Zealand. He emphasized the seminar is held on the right time. This is because the Kinmen coastguard incident occurred ahead of the inauguration of Taiwan’s new Lai Ching-de administration. China, which is holding the Two Sessions, is setting its policy toward Taiwan.

Adding on that, Dr. I Yuan, Adjunct Research Fellow at the Institute of International Relations, observed that this incident raises the possibility of exploring topics related to China’s coast guard activities in Taiwan’s territorial waters, which could be a topic worth further investigation.

Regarding New Zealand’s role in the Indo-Pacific region, Dr. Pulotu Tupe, a former New Zealand diplomat with over 10 years’ experience in the Greater China region, took the lead on the discussion. She said that middle-sized powers like Taiwan and New Zealand should navigate together in the increasingly challenging strategic environment, playing a role in maintaining peace and stability in the region. As Pacific island countries, they can also achieve cooperation in various sectors such as EEZ, climate change issues and protecting indigenous peoples.

Concluded with an active discussion, the seminar once again showed the important role of Taiwan and New Zealand in the Indo-Pacific area these days. The two institutions agreed to discuss further for generating a new path to cooperate on security policy research and new security issues like climate change.