Taiwan's top envoy to Australia seeks cooperation on minerals, drones

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As Australia looks to recalibrate its economic relationship with China, Taipei is hoping to strengthen bilateral ties and partner with Canberra in such areas as critical minerals and drones, said Douglas Hsu (徐佑典), Taiwan's representative to Australia.

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With that in mind, Hsu said he has been trying to convince Australia to engage Taiwan "on its own merit," rather than treating it as a subordinate issue in its relationship with China.

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Asked to name some areas for further bilateral collaboration, Hsu said many countries around the world, including Taiwan, have learned the importance of breaking China's near-complete hold on critical minerals.

Australia has significant reserves of almost all key critical minerals, and Taiwan looks forward to closer bilateral cooperation in this area, the envoy said.

Though he admitted that Taiwan currently lacks expertise in the mining industry, he noted that a critical minerals pact signed by the U.S. and Australia late last year provides a potential framework to follow in promoting possible cooperation.

Other areas for closer partnership include drones, underwater drones and anti-drone systems, Hsu said.

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