Affirming bipartisan support for the One China policy, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Friday that Canberra is very unlikely to support Taiwan's application to join a Pacific trade pact, namely the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
This marks a major shift from Canberra’s previous position on the Taiwan issue, signaling Australia's attempt to reset ties with China.
"The CPTPP is a relationship between nation-states which are recognized...Taiwan is represented here (at APEC) as an economy. And there is bipartisan support for the One-China policy," the Australian PM noted.
Taiwan was involved in the negotiations as a primary partner of the original US-led 12-member agreement, known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which was thrown into limbo after Washington withdrew from the pact, which had been conceptualized as a counterweight to China.
The pact was renamed as the CPTPP, and includes countries such as Canada, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.
Australian PM Albanese met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on November 15 on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, six years after the last top-level formal talks between the two nations.
Acknowledging the difficulties in bilateral ties, the Chinese president said that Beijing and Canberra should “improve, maintain, and develop the relationship.” Albanese described their meeting as "positive and constructive."
Meanwhile, reacting to Albanese's remarks, Taipei said it would approach the Australian government to "clarify" its position.
The situation around Taiwan escalated after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island in early August. Beijing condemned Pelosi's trip, which it regarded as a gesture of support for separatism, and launched large-scale military exercises in the vicinity of the island. Despite this, several countries, including Germany, have sent delegations to the island since then, further increasing tensions in the Taiwan Strait.