Australian MPs delegation to visit Taiwan

SYDNEY: A group of Australian MPs will leave on Sunday for a five-day visit to Taiwan, a spokesman for one of the politicians said on Saturday, risking China´s ire just as Beijing-Canberra relations appeared to be thawing.

The bipartisan trip will be the first such Taiwan visit in more than three years, a period marked by a long disruption to air travel caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Details of the visit were confirmed to AFP by a spokesman for Scott Buchholz, a conservative MP who is in the delegation.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sought to play down the mission´s significance after it was first reported by the Weekend Australian newspaper.

“There have been backbench visits to Taiwan for a long time. This is another one. This isn´t a government visit,” he told reporters.

Albanese said both major Australian political parties supported the “One China” policy, which recognises Beijing, not Taipei, while backing the status quo on the self-ruled island.