ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Taiwan not included in launch of new Biden Indo-Pacific pact

U.S. President Joe Biden gestures as Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, left, and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, second from left, stand at the U.S. Yokota Air Base, in Fussa on the outskirts of Tokyo, Sunday, May 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) U.S. President Joe Biden gestures as Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, left, and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, second from left, stand at the U.S. Yokota Air Base, in Fussa on the outskirts of Tokyo, Sunday, May 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Share
TOKYO -

U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday is expected to come out with a list of nations that will join a long-anticipated Indo-Pacific trade pact, but Taiwan won't be among them.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed that Taiwan isn't among the governments signed up for the launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, a pact that's meant to allow the U.S. to work more closely with key Asian economies on issues like supply chains, digital trade, clean energy and anticorruption. The U.S. president is slated to highlight the launch of the framework as he meets Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday.

Inclusion of the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which China claims as its own, would have irked Beijing.

"We are looking to deepen our economic partnership with Taiwan including on high technology issues, including on semiconductor supply," Sullivan said. "But we're pursuing that in the first instance on a bilateral basis."

The framework is meant to establish Biden's economic strategy for the region. Matthew Goodman, senior vice president for economics at Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, suggested that some Pacific signatories will be disappointed because the pact is not expected to include provisions for greater access to the U.S. market.

"I think a lot of partners are going to look at that list and say: That's a good list of issues. I'm happy to be involved," said Goodman, a former director for international economics on the National Security Council during President Barack Obama's administration. "But, you know, are we going to get any tangible benefits out of participating in this framework?"

Beijing, in anticipation of the launch of the pact, has criticized the U.S. effort.

"We hope they will build an open and inclusive circle of friends in Asia-Pacific, rather than an exclusive cliques, and do more for peace and development, rather than creating turmoil and chaos in the region," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said.

Brian Deese, director of the White House National Economic Council, said the pact is focused on "issues that would matter most for American families," like avoiding empty shelves in stores. "This framework will help us build more resilient early warnings for supply chains," he told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday. "We can solve those types of issues."

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.

Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.

The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.

Emergency crews in northern Ontario found the bodies of four people inside a home where a fire broke out Thursday night.

Local Spotlight

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.