Press Release
November 15, 2009

RP SHOULD EXPAND TIES WITH TAIWAN -- PIMENTEL

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today called for the expansion of areas of cooperation between the Philippines and Taiwan without disrupting the one-China policy.

Pimentel said the Philippines should not hesitate to improve its relations with Taiwan, its closest neighbor in Northeast Asia, since even mainland China has taken steps to widen its economic ties and remove travel and communication barriers with Taiwan despite their unresolved political conflict.

The senator, who visited Taipeh last month, said he learned from his conversations with key Taiwanese officials that they want to boost relations with the Philippines in many areas: economic, cultural, labor, education, medical, touristic and other fields.

He said Taiwan, which has successfully industrialized, can help the Philippines explore and develop areas of development that will benefit its people such as professional and student exchange program in all fields of education, medicine, physics, engineering, internet technology, shipbuilding and clean power generation.

"These activities have nothing to do with political sovereignty," Pimentel said. "They have everything to do with improving our relationship with Taiwan and in the process develop our capability to compete with the rapidly modernizing world."

The minority leader said relations between Taiwan and mainland China, have been improving by leaps and bound since only a year ago. To date, Taiwan and China have entered into nine bilateral and one consensus agreements that include travel, postal service, sea and air transport, food safety, financial, crime fighting, mutual judicial assistance and investment agreements.

"As these agreements indicate, Taiwan is being treated as an equal by China in all matters except perhaps on the issue of political sovereignty," Pimentel said.

"If that is the case, why should our government hesitate to enter into all sorts of cooperative agreements that will be of mutual benefit to us but without infringing upon the political sovereignty issue that might be too sensitive to handle at that point?"

He also cited the fact that the emissary of the Taiwanese government and his official entourage were welcome as visiting dignitaries in Beijing in June 2008.

"If China could give the officials of Taiwan official greetings, why couldn't we do so also and in effect normalize our relationship with Taiwan to the extent that our two nations may have officials exchanges," the opposition senator said.

Pimentel said one important step the Philippines can do to expand and enhance economic ties with Taiwan is to approved Double Taxation Agreement that has yet to be ratified by the Senate.

He noted that the United Kingdom, Australia, Belguim, Denmark, The Netherlands and Sweden have existing agreements on this matter with Taiwan not as a political sovereign but as entity running a particular territory.

"If those countries that are several flight hours away from Taiwan find it beneficial to have an agreement dealing with double taxation, why should the Philippines that is only an hour and forty five minutes away by jet not have such a pact with Taiwan, a neighbor, ally and a friend?" Pimentel said.

At the same time Pimentel conveyed the government's gratitude to Taiwan for extending assistance to victims of typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng in the form of cash, relief goods and medical services.

He said Taiwan donated $US50,000 on Sept. 30 or four days after typhoon Ondoy hit the country. It also coursed E10,000 through the Vatican's Pontifical Council, Cor Unum to the Philippine Embassy in Rome.

Subsequently, Taiwan sent 40 tons of relief goods through two C-130 planes donated by the Fo Guang Shan Monastery on Oct. 12 and 26 worth NT$6 million for the calamity victims. The Taiwanese government and non-government organizations from the island-state sent medical teams which treated disaster victims in certain areas in Metro Manila.

"I only wish to put on record that Taiwan, a nation with whom we do not have a diplomatic relations, was quite likely among the highest contributors to alleviate the plight of our people in the wake of the devastation wrought by Ondoy and Pepeng and probably the first among the friendly countries to do so," Pimentel said.

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