The Foreign Ministry says it welcomes growing international attention to underwater infrastructure and will continue to strengthen cooperation with European partners, following a multilateral statement at the IISS Asia Security Summit: The Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) in Singapore.

From May 29 to 31, 17 countries released Guiding Principles for Underwater Infrastructure Defence Exchanges (GUIDE), with more than half of the signatories from Europe. The ministry says the move aligns with Taiwan’s efforts to promote international risk management for subsea cables. 

The ministry welcomed the joint statement, adding that it reflects heightened concern over the security and resilience of critical underwater infrastructure such as submarine cables.
Of the 17 countries, nine are European, in line with Europe’s recent focus on the issue. In January, the European Parliament adopted the EU’s annual report on the implementation of the common security and defence policy, supporting stronger Taiwan-Europe cooperation on protecting subsea cables.

The ministry said Taiwan has already engaged the European Union and like-minded countries on the issue through multiple channels. Deputy Secretary General of the European Affairs Department Li Hsiu-Yao (李秀窈) said, “One concrete example is that we have, in fact, used the Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF) platform to facilitate exchanges among submarine cable experts from the European Union and other like-minded European countries, and Taiwan and the EU have also exchanged views on related issues in their Dialogue on Digital Economy (DDE).”