Netherlands supports Taiwan's right to participate in UN

By Deepak Arora

NEW YORK, Sept 19: Netherlands has passed a resoluton that supports Taiwan's right to participate in the United Nations and other international organizations.

The Dutch House of Representatives passed a resolution on September 12 recognizing that U.N. Resolution 2758 neither grants the People’s Republic of China sovereignty over Taiwan nor negates Taiwan’s right to participate in the U.N. and other international organizations, according to a statement issued by the Taiwan's Ministry of Foregin Affairs.

The statement added that the move is particularly significant in light of the ongoing 79th session of the U.N. General Assembly.

The Netherlands has become the first European country and second in the world to pass similar decrees following the Australian Senate’s August 22 passage of a motion supporting Taiwan’s sovereignty and participation in global bodies, the ministry said.

The resolution was preceded by the Dutch House’s passage of a motion promoting Taiwan’s international involvement in April and another in May urging its government to join the European Union and other like-minded partners in voicing disapproval of China’s military exercises around Taiwan, the MOFA added.

Equally welcomed is the joint statement released September 14 following the first U.K.-U.S. Strategic Dialogue that took place September 10 in London, the ministry said. The two sides reiterated the indispensability of Taiwan Strait stability to the security and prosperity of the international community and called for the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues.

The MOFA also expressed appreciation for a joint statement issued after the Lithuania-U.S. Strategic Dialogue on September 12 in Vilnius, in which the two countries encouraged the establishment of a robust economic partnership between Taiwan and Lithuania and backed Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations.

The ministry added that Taiwan will continue to work with like-minded countries to defend the rules-based international order and preserve democracy, peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.