Israel’s representative office in Taiwan on Monday said that instructions sent to its diplomats to refrain from meeting with their Taiwanese counterparts in official settings did not represent a change in policy.
The clarification comes following the publication on May 24 by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (Kan) of a diplomatic cable sent by Israeli government official Hagai Shagrir.
According to Kan, Shagrir had instructed Israeli embassy staff around the world to refrain from inviting or accepting invitations from their Taiwanese counterparts to official events, in particular, each side’s national day celebrations.
The report said that the message was sent “in an apparent attempt to avoid a diplomatic flare-up with China.”
Asked to comment, the Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei (ISECO), which represents Israel’s interests in Taiwan in the absence of official ties, told CNA that the cable was a regular reminder to embassy staff of existing policy.
“The cable that was quoted in the article was sent before Israel’s National Day and is a regular, periodical reminder to our missions abroad about the regulations related to National Day events of both sides and other formal events,” the ISECO wrote.
The ISECO added that “there is no change in our policy towards Taiwan and there is nothing new here.”
The office said that Israel-Taiwan relations have been warming and deepening over the years and both sides have so far signed more than 20 agreements with bilateral trade volumes exceeding US$2.3 billion, making Taiwan Israel’s fourth largest export destination in Asia this year.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou (???) told CNA the ministry would not comment on the news report but noted that it was published on the same day that Israel’s top envoy to Taiwan, Omer Caspi, attended a conference in Taipei on ending gender-based violence.
The conference had been jointly organized by Taiwan and seven foreign representative offices, including Israel, under the Global Cooperation and Training Framework.
Despite the absence of diplomatic relations, Ou said Taiwan and Israel shared common democratic values related to freedom, human rights, and rule of law and had long maintained close relations and exchanges on all fronts.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel