WA stays quiet on growing diplomatic spat over proposed Taiwan office in Perth

Western Australia is refusing to say if it backs Taiwan’s push to establish a new office in Perth as the Albanese Government appears ready to approve the proposal, despite a growing diplomatic backlash from China.

A report in The West Australian last week revealing that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra was considering the request for an additional, but unofficial consular presence, has also prompted sharp criticism of Beijing’s actions.

“The People’s Republic of China has no right to comment on Taiwan’s interactions with other countries,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in Taiwan said following the West’s report.

While the ministry condemned Beijing for what it described as its continued, unreasonable efforts to obstruct Taiwan’s international exchanges, it stopped short of confirming a proposal had been submitted for a new office in Perth.

The ministry added that Taiwan valued its long-standing, mutually beneficial and friendly partnership with Australia and will continue working with like-minded partners to promote regional peace, stability and prosperity.

Under the long-standing One China policy, Taiwan does not enjoy formal diplomatic relations with Australia, but its interests are represented here by an unofficial embassy known as the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office.

Taiwan’s push for a WA foothold comes amid the State’s growing international strategic importance as Washington deepens co-operation on critical minerals and prepares to rotate submarines out of HMAS Stirling as part of the AUKUS partnership.

To date, Taiwan’s de facto embassy in Canberra has also declined to comment or even confirm whether it has submitted a proposal for an additional office in Perth, along with its existing consulates in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Chinese government sources have confirmed to The West Australian that representatives in Canberra launched a formal protest earlier this year with DFAT to oppose Taiwan’s proposed Perth office.

They argue that allowing a new unofficial Taiwanese diplomatic office in the country would set the wrong precedent and be in breach of the spirit of Australia’s One China policy.

“The offices that Taiwan established in Canberra and in other cities happened many years ago, they should not be allowed to now set up a new one in Perth,” a Chinese official told The West.

The West has been told that DFAT is continuing to consider Taiwan’s application including consulting with the State Government, but a spokesperson for Premier Roger Cook declined to comment.

“We will refer any questions on this matter to the Commonwealth Government,” a spokesperson told The West.

Senior Albanese Government figures have privately acknowledged the “very sensitive” nature of Taiwan’s DFAT submission as strategic relations with China remain strained but say the Perth office is expected to be approved.

As the country’s mining powerhouse, WA has for decades pursued a close economic relationship with China, but the City of Perth has also enjoyed a formal “friendship-city” relationship with Taipei City since 1999.