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June
From vaccines to climate, G7 hopes to show the West is not over yet
Written by Nur Yasmin
The Group of Seven rich democracies will try to show the world at a summit this week that the West can still act in concert to tackle major crises by donating hundreds of millions of COVID-19 vaccines to poor countries and pledging to slow climate change.
U.S. President Joe Biden, on his first foreign trip since winning power, will try to use the summit in the English seaside village of Carbis Bay to burnish his multilateral credentials after the tumult of Donald Trump's presidency.
Whether on COVID-19 or climate change, the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States want to illustrate that the West can compete with the power of China and the assertiveness of Russia.
"This is a defining question of our time: Can democracies come together to deliver real results for our people in a rapidly changing world?" Biden, 78, asked in a June 5 opinion piece in The Washington Post.
"Will the democratic alliances and institutions that shaped so much of the last century prove their capacity against modern-day threats and adversaries? I believe the answer is yes."
At the weekend, the G7′s finance ministers agreed a deal on a minimum corporate tax rate, which U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said reflected a desire to work together.
“It shows that multilateral collaboration can be successful,” she said.
Biden meets British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, chair of the summit, on Thursday, the day before the start of the leaders' three-day meeting. On Sunday, Biden will become the 13th serving U.S. President to meet Queen Elizabeth II, 95, who will receive him at Windsor Castle.
He then travels to Brussels for a NATO summit and a European Union summit before he meets Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin in Geneva on June 16.
The G7 was founded in 1975 as a forum for the richest nations to discuss crises such as the OPEC oil embargo. Its countries have a combined annual GDP of $40 trillion, or just under half of the global economy.
The West, though, feels insecure. The coronavirus ravaged the United States and Europe and climate change has challenged the assumptions of many of its economic models. It faces a truculent Kremlin in Moscow and the spectacular re-emergence of China as a great power.
The G7 summit in Carbis Bay, 300 miles west of London, will be the first for Biden, Italy's Mario Draghi and Japan's Yoshihide Suga, and the first post-Brexit G7 for Johnson.
It will be Angela Merkel’s last G7 before she steps down as German Chancellor after an election in September, and Emmanuel Macron's last before a 2022 election in France. The leaders of Australia, India, South Korea and South Africa were invited, though Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have to miss the meeting due to the COVID-19 situation at home.
Behind the public pronouncements, diplomats say, G7 leaders will talk about how to deal with China and Russia, how to win back the trillions of dollars in wealth wiped out by COVID-19 and how to ensure free trade in a world tilting towards China.
China, the world's second largest economy, has never been a member of the G7. Russia, admitted as a G8 member six years after the fall of the Soviet Union, was suspended in 2014 after it annexed the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine.
Moscow and Beijing have both told the G7 to stop meddling in their affairs.
After many rich powers hoarded COVID-19 vaccines, Johnson wants the G7 to donate hundreds of millions of doses to poorer countries, many of which are far behind the West in vaccinating their populations.
"Vaccinating the world by the end of next year would be the single greatest feat in medical history," Johnson said.
Beyond the security that will cocoon world leaders, thousands of protesters will try to disrupt the summit over concerns ranging from climate change to a draft bill that would give British police more powers to curb demonstrations.
“Our rights weren’t won through quiet polite protest. Our rights were won through being noisy, disruptive and annoying,” said the Kill The Bill group - one of about 20 activist organisations to have joined a ‘Resist G7 Coalition’. (Reuters)
June
Philippines to open COVID-19 vaccinations to include more workers
Written by Nur Yasmin
The Philippines will open up its vaccination drive this week to include around 35 million people working outside their homes, such as public transport staff, in a bid to help curb COVID-19 transmission and to open up the economy, officials said.
The next phase in the rollout that started in March comes after vaccines were initially targeted at health care workers, senior citizens and people with existing health conditions.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said those eligible to join the new phase, which includes workers in the informal sector, will be able to register from Wednesday, with the country expecting more vaccines to arrive in the second half.
The Philippines has so far received more than nine million doses, mostly supplied by China's Sinovac Biotech (SVA.O), but has a long way to go to meet its goal of immunising 70 million people this year out of a population of 110 million.
The country is also lagging some neighbours, with only 4.4 million people having received their first dose and more than 1.5 million two shots so far.
Opening the vaccination campaign to more people will allow the "process of reopening (the economy) to continue," Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez told the same media briefing.
"This is a shot in the arm needed by our economic frontliners and our economy so the signs of recovery will continue."
In order to help shore up confidence in the vaccine programme and tackle vaccine hesitancy, local celebrities were among 50 people vaccinated in an inoculation ceremony on Monday.
The Philippines, which is battling one of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in Asia, has reported 1.27 million infections and almost 22,000 deaths, with some provinces outside the capital region emerging as new hotspots for COVID-19. (Reuters)
June
Thailand starts long awaited COVID-19 vaccination drive
Written by Nur Yasmin
Thailand kicked off a long-awaited mass vaccination campaign on Monday as the country battles its third and worst wave of the coronavirus epidemic.
The government aims to administer 6 million doses this month, hoping to ease worries over the highly anticipated roll-out and concerns about supply shortages.
"The government will ensure that everyone is vaccinated," Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said in televised comments after he visited an inoculation centre in Bangkok.
There were, however, early hiccups as some vaccine centres registered more than their quota, leading to postponements, senior health official Opas Karnkawinpong told a news conference.
"We apologise if your vaccination appointment was postponed, but will make sure you are registered at the earliest," Opas said.
Hospitals last week delayed vaccinations for nearly 40,000 people, citing a limited supply. read more
Thailand escaped the worst of the coronavirus pandemic as it hit other countries hard last year, but is now grappling with its deadliest outbreak. Officials have scrambled to source more vaccines amid the third wave, which so far accounts for more than 80% of its 179,886 total infections and 1,269 fatalities.
Authorities on Monday said 235 cases of the B.1.617.2 variant, which ravaged India, had spread to nine provinces since it was first detected in Bangkok last month.
The outbreaks has highlighted criticisms of the country's vaccine programme for an over-reliance on AstraZeneca shots produced by royal-owned Siam Bioscience, a slow roll-out and a confusing registration system.
On Monday morning, 986 vaccination centres reported a total of 143,116 people received shots. That adds to 2.8 million people deemed vulnerable, including frontline health and transport workers.
"My feeling is that no matter what, we will need to go outside of home for the littlest things, so getting the vaccine gives us a sense of relief," said Praepawee Lertpongkijja, 38, at a Bangkok vaccination centre.
VACCINE SUPPLIES
The 6 million doses to be administered this month will be a mix of AstraZeneca (AZN.L) and imported Sinovac (SVA.O) vaccines.
Concerns were raised last week over local production of the AstraZeneca vaccine by Siam Bioscience's after the Philippines said its order had been reduced and delayed. read more
The health ministry on Monday said it will receive an additional 3.42 million doses from AstraZeneca after mid-June said, did not specify how much would be locally made.
It received 1.8 million locally-produced AstraZeneca shots on Friday. Another 200,000 doses from South Korea, a health ministry source told Reuters.
The country expects to sign contracts this week for 20 million shots of the Pfizer (PFE.N)/BioNTech (22UAy.DE) vaccine and five million doses from Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) read more
Private hospitals will offer two shots of the Moderna vaccine (MRNA.O) for 3,800 baht ($121.91) after October, an industry group said, adding 10 million doses had been ordered. (Reuters)
June
Tech giants and tax havens targeted by historic G7 deal
Written by Nur Yasmin
The United States, Britain and other large, rich nations reached a landmark deal on Saturday to squeeze more money out of multinational companies such as Amazon and Google and reduce their incentive to shift profits to low-tax offshore havens.
Hundreds of billions of dollars could flow into the coffers of governments left cash-strapped by the COVID-19 pandemic after the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies agreed to back a minimum global corporate tax rate of at least 15%.
Facebook (FB.O) said it expected it would have to pay more tax, in more countries, as a result of the deal, which comes after eight years of talks that gained fresh impetus in recent months after proposals from U.S. President Joe Biden's new administration.
"G7 finance ministers have reached a historic agreement to reform the global tax system to make it fit for the global digital age," British finance minister Rishi Sunak said after chairing a two-day meeting in London.
The meeting, hosted at an ornate 19th-century mansion near Buckingham Palace in central London, was the first time finance ministers have met face-to-face since the start of the pandemic.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the "significant, unprecedented commitment" would end what she called a race to the bottom on global taxation.
German finance minister Olaf Scholz said the deal was "bad news for tax havens around the world".
Yellen also saw the G7 meeting as marking a return to multilateralism under Biden and a contrast to the approach of U.S. President Donald Trump, who alienated many U.S. allies.
"What I've seen during my time at this G7 is deep collaboration and a desire to coordinate and address a much broader range of global problems," she said.
Ministers also agreed to move towards making companies declare their environmental impact in a more standard way so investors can decided more easily whether to fund them, a key goal for Britain.
TAXING TIMES
Current global tax rules date back to the 1920s and struggle with multinational tech giants that sell services remotely and attribute much of their profits to intellectual property held in low-tax jurisdictions.
Nick Clegg, Facebook's vice-president for global affairs and a former British deputy prime minister, said: "We want the international tax reform process to succeed and recognise this could mean Facebook paying more tax, and in different places."
But Italy, which will seek wider international backing for the plans at a meeting of the G20 in Venice next month, said the proposals were not just aimed at U.S. firms.
Yellen said European countries would scrap existing digital services taxes which the United States says discriminate against U.S. businesses as the new global rules go into effect.
"There is broad agreement that these two things go hand in hand," she said.
Key details remain to be negotiated over the coming months. Saturday's agreement says only "the largest and most profitable multinational enterprises" would be affected.
European countries had been concerned that this could exclude Amazon (AMZN.O) - which has lower profit margins than most tech companies - but Yellen said she expected it would be included.
How tax revenues will be split is not finalised either, and any deal will also need to pass the U.S. Congress.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said he would push for a higher minimum tax, calling 15% "a starting point".
Some campaign groups also condemned what they saw as a lack of ambition. "They are setting the bar so low that companies can just step over it," Oxfam's head of inequality policy, Max Lawson, said.
But Irish finance minister Paschal Donohoe, whose country is potentially affected because of its 12.5% tax rate, said any global deal also needed to take account of smaller nations.
The G7 includes the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada. (Reuters)
June
Australia's COVID-19 hotspot logs four new local cases
Written by Nur Yasmin
Australia's second most populous state Victoria on Sunday reported two new locally acquired COVID-19 cases, with the low number raising hopes that a hard lockdown in the state's capital Melbourne will be eased on June 10.
Two other new cases were reported on Sunday by an aged care home, but the state had yet to confirm them.
The four new local infections bring Victoria's total cases to 74, including two recovered cases, in the outbreak that began in late May after a man who tested negative in hotel quarantine in Adelaide returned to Melbourne and tested positive.
The daily rise was down from five new cases reported on Saturday. All four new cases were linked to existing clusters.
Officials said that Melbourne's restrictions would probably be eased on Thursday.
"If we can, we will lift it early, but at this stage our expectation is that it will continue to Thursday," Victoria's deputy chief health officer Allen Cheng told reporters.
Health authorities remain worried about the emergence of the highly infectious Delta variant, which has now extended to 10 cases, as the source has yet to be identified and there has been no genomic match so far with any other cases in Australia.
The Delta variant, which has been classified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as among the four COVID-19 variants of concern due to evidence that it spreads more easily, likely caused the latest devastating outbreak in India.
"The last thing we want to see is this variant of the virus getting out and becoming uncontrollable," state deputy premier James Merlino said.
A family that travelled to a beach town in New South Wales state were the first in Melbourne to be infected by the Delta variant.
"We are concerned about who it was who might have given them the infection and therefore could there be other infections related to that," Cheng said.
Arcare said it had two new cases at one of its aged care facilities. One of the new cases was a nurse and the other a resident who lives close to two residents infected earlier.
Australia has been relatively successful in controlling the virus with snap lockdowns, tight border restrictions and social distancing, but has had a slow vaccine rollout.
Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Sunday that Canberra would deliver an extra 100,000 Pfizer (PFE.N) vaccines to Victoria over three weeks from June 14 and would double the number of AstraZeneca (AZN.L) vaccines to 230,000 for medical clinics in the state.
Victoria has accounted for two-thirds of the more than 30,100 COVID-19 cases and 90% of the 910 deaths in the country since the pandemic began last year.
Merlino on Sunday announced A$32 million ($25 million) in assistance to regional tourism and accommodation operators to make up for a disrupted ski season, adding to A$460 million committed last week to businesses affected by the lockdown. (Reuters)
June
Myanmar junta opponents say no faith in ASEAN as envoys visit
Written by Nur Yasmin
Opponents of Myanmar’s junta said on Friday they had lost faith in Southeast Asian efforts to end the crisis in the country, as two regional envoys met the military ruler Min Aung Hlaing in the capital Naypyitaw.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has led the main international diplomatic effort to find a way out of the crisis in Myanmar, a country in turmoil since the military's Feb. 1 overthrow of Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government.
"We have little confidence in ASEAN's efforts. All of our hopes are gone," said Moe Zaw Oo, a deputy foreign minister in a parallel government that the junta has declared treasonous.
"I don't think they have a solid plan for their credibility," he said of ASEAN.
Moe Zaw Oo was speaking in a streamed news conference that was disrupted across Myanmar by internet outages.
Two sources briefed on the outage, who declined to be identified for security reasons, told Reuters authorities had ordered the shutdown.
The junta leader Min Aung Hlaing met on Friday with ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi and Erywan Yusof, the second minister for foreign affairs for ASEAN chair Brunei, army-run Myawaddy TV reported.
It said the meeting discussed Myanmar cooperating on humanitarian issues, holding an election once the country was stable, and what it said were irregularities in last year's election, which led to the military intervention.
The military, which ruled Myanmar from 1962 to 2011, had promised to return democracy within two years.
The visit was part of a five-point consensus reached at a meeting in Jakarta of the bloc's leaders late in April, which was attended by Min Aung Hlaing and celebrated by ASEAN as a breakthrough.
ASEAN has yet to announce the visit and it was not immediately clear if the envoys planned to meet opponents of the military or other stakeholders.
COUNTRY IN CHAOS
Myanmar has sunk into chaos since the coup, with countrywide strikes, boycotts and protests paralysing the economy and tens of thousands of people displaced by heavy fighting between the military and ethnic minority insurgents and newly formed militias.
At least 845 people have been killed by security forces and more than 4,500 jailed, according to an activist group. The junta disputes those figures.
Nobel laureate Suu Kyi, 75, is among those held, charged in two different courts with offences ranging from breaching coronavirus curbs and illegally importing walkie-talkies to a violation of the Official Secrets Act, punishable by up to 14 years in jail.
Her lawyer voiced concern on Friday that she had no legal representative in the most serious of the cases, which also includes her Australian economic adviser, Sean Turnell, but had listed all of them as representing themselves.
"We have concerns that they won't have any legal representatives and there won't be any transparency," Khin Maung Zaw told Reuters.
The National Unity Government (NUG), comprised of pro-democracy groups and supporters of Suu Kyi's ruling party, on Friday said it would end conflicts in Myanmar and write a new federal constitution but would first need to defeat the junta.
Its defence minister Khin Ma Ma Myo said militias called People's Defence Forces had been formed nationwide, but must work together with existing armed groups.
"The NUG government will call for a war at some point. When that time comes, we must work together to defeat the junta," he said.
"At the moment, it is not important who the leader is, it is important to defeat the common enemy - the terrorist regime."
Min Aung Hlaing’s meeting with the ASEAN envoys came a day after he met the head of the International Red Cross.
The United Nations, Western countries and China have all backed ASEAN’s mediating role, but some Western powers have also imposed increasing sanctions to target junta members and their economic interests.
The Special Advisory Council for Myanmar, a group of independent international experts, said it was crucial that the ASEAN envoys meet all parties in the country, including protest leaders, the NUG, elected lawmakers and Suu Kyi's party.
"Failure to meet with all relevant parties risks lending legitimacy to the junta and undermines the enormous effort and sacrifice made by the people of Myanmar to resist the junta’s violent and unlawful attempt to seize power," it said. (Reuters)
June
APEC ministers pledge to expedite transit of COVID-19 vaccines, related goods
Written by Nur Yasmin
Ministers from the Asia-Pacific trade group APEC on Saturday agreed to review trade barriers and expedite the cross-border transit of COVID-19 vaccines and related goods, but stopped short of a broad commitment to remove tariffs.
A meeting of trade ministers from the 21-economy group, which includes the United States, China and Japan, also produced pledges to support World Trade Organization negotiations for an intellectual property waiver on COVID-19 vaccines.
In three statements issued after the meeting, the ministers said they would "expedite the flow and transit of all COVID-19 vaccines and related goods through their air, sea and land ports."
"We will consider voluntary actions to reduce the cost of these products for our people, particularly by encouraging each economy to review its own charges levied at the border on COVID-19 vaccines and related goods," one statement said.
The ministers also said they were committed to work to facilitate the movement of essential goods and minimize disruptions to networks critical to keeping supply chains operating smoothly.
"APEC economies should prioritise identifying unnecessary barriers to trade in any relevant services that may hinder expediting and facilitating the movement of essential goods, and should ensure consistency of any such barriers with their World Trade Organization" obligations, the statement said.
BEST PRACTICES
Vaccine-related trade barriers, including export restrictions, tariffs and other import barriers, have been viewed as contributing to a relative lack of vaccine access in developing countries.
Average APEC tariffs on vaccines are low at around 0.8%, but other goods important in the vaccine supply chain face higher tariffs. Alcohol solutions, freezing equipment, packaging and storage materials, vials and rubber stoppers face average tariffs above 5%, and tariffs can be as high as 30% in some APEC economies.
Prior to the start of the virtual meeting, host New Zealand had wanted APEC members to agree on “best practices guidelines” on the movement of vaccines and related medical products across borders, a person familiar with the talks told Reuters.
APEC gatherings in recent years have struggled to reach agreements due to former U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war with China. The new Biden administration has promised a more multilateral approach.
New Zealand viewed an agreement as important to show that APEC is responsive and relevant to the crisis facing the world.
VACCINE IP WAIVER
The ministers said they will work proactively and urgently in WTO negotiations aimed at agreeing on a temporary waiver of intellectual property rights on vaccines "as soon as possible" and no later than the WTO's ministerial conference scheduled for the end of November.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, who last month announced her support for a waiver, told a news conference before the meeting that she was encouraged by progress of those talks.
"What I've heard from these few days of interaction with my fellow ministers from the APEC region is broadly an agreement that we need to increase access to vaccines, increase supply of vaccines," Tai said.
New Zealand's trade minister, Damien O'Connor, said there are a range of challenges around production and distribution of vaccines that can be addressed to improve supply around the world, but gaining patent waivers could still be an obstacle.
"Having looked at all those challenges, if it is IP that is holding us back, I think that there will be consensus reached at the WTO. And I think as APEC economies, we certainly are going to ask for that to be considered seriously," he said.
The APEC trade ministers also said the WTO needed to strengthen its credibility by concluding decades-long negotiations to curb harmful fisheries subsidies, with a "comprehensive and meaningful agreement" by July 31.
The group called on its member officials to explore options to undertake a “potential voluntary standstill on inefficient fossil fuel subsidies,” with a progress report expected in November. (Reuters)
June
Iran presidential candidates trade barbs in TV debate
Written by nuke
Posters of presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi are seen at a campaign center in Tehran, Iran June 4, 2021. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS -
Candidates in Iran's presidential election this month traded strong barbs in a debate on Saturday (Jun 5), accusing each other of treason or of lacking the education to run an economy devastated by three years of US sanctions.
While the five hardline candidates attacked the eight-year performance of outgoing pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani, the leading moderate candidate, former central bank chief Abdolnaser Hemmati, blamed hardliners for heightened tensions with the West that he said had worsened Iran’s economic woes.
"If I become president, I will ban Hemmati and a number of other officials of the Rouhani government from leaving the country, and I will prove in court which treacherous roles they played," Rezaee said in the televised three-hour debate.
After Rezaee's remarks, Hemmati half-jokingly asked leading hardline candidate and judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi: "Mr Raisi, can you give me assurances that no legal action will be taken against me after this event?"
With the hardline-led election watchdog, the Guardian Council, barring leading moderate and conservative candidates, the turnout is likely to be record low in a seven-man race between hardline and somewhat less hardline candidates, and two low-profile moderates.
"I watched the debate and now I am even more certain not to vote. This election is a joke," said retired teacher Fariba Semsari by phone from the northern city of Rasht.
But a Tehran-based journalist, who asked not to be named, said: "Hemmati has drawn support among some who would have otherwise not voted. Among other things, his move to have himself represented in an interview with state TV by his outspoken wife has impressed some women."
Hemmati accused hardliners of isolating Iran internationally and ruining its economy, large sectors of which are dominated by hardline-run conglomerates.
"You have closed off our economy and our foreign contacts...I ask you and your friends, companies and institutions to please pull out of our economy, and then Iran's economy will surely improve," said Hemmati, an economics professor.
"You have only six years of classic education, and while respecting your seminary studies, I must say that one cannot manage the economy and draw up plans for the country with this much education," said Mehralizadeh, who holds a doctorate in financial management.
Raisi blasted Rouhani's government over galloping inflation and the rapid fall in the value of Iran's currency, and rejected comments by Hemmati and other moderates who blame US sanctions for Iran's economic troubles and say without proper management the country would have been worse off.
"This is like a goalkeeper who lets in 17 goals... and then says without me it would have been 30 goals!" Raisi said.
The election is likely to reinforce the authority of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is close to hardliners, at a time when Tehran and six world powers are trying to revive their 2015 nuclear deal. Washington exited the accord three years ago and reimposed sanctions//CNA
June
UK's Johnson calls on G7 to vaccinate world against COVID-19 by end of 2022
Written by nuke
person receives a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, at vaccination centre for young people and students at the Hunter Street Health Centre, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in London, Britain, Jun 5, 2021. (Photo: REUTERS/Henry Nicholls) -
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday (Jun 6) called for leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) rich nations to make a commitment to vaccinate the entire world against COVID-19 by the end of 2022 when they meet in Britain next week.
Johnson will host the first in-person summit in almost two years of G7 leaders - which follows a meeting of the group's finance ministers which wrapped up earlier in the day - and said he would seek a pledge to hit the global vaccination goal.
"I’m calling on my fellow G7 leaders to join us to end this terrible pandemic and pledge we will never allow the devastation wreaked by coronavirus to happen again."
The leaders of Germany, France, the United States, Italy, Japan, the European Union and Canada will join Johnson for the three-day summit in Cornwall, southwest England, which begins on Friday. It will be the first overseas trip for US President Joe Biden since he took office in January.
While the richest nations have been vaccinating large numbers of their populations, many poorer countries have not had the same access to vaccines. And health experts have warned that unless more COVID shots were donated, the virus will continue to spread and mutate.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, in London for the finance ministers meeting, said it was urgent for the richest nations to promote vaccinations in poorer countries that could not afford to buy them.
She also repeated the US position that patent rights should be removed for the vaccines, and said they were doing everything they could to address supply chain problems that were preventing a build-up of shots in other parts of the world.
June
Taiwan to get 750,000 COVID-19 vaccine shots from US
Written by nuke
Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, fourth from right, waves with US senators to his right: Democratic Sen. Christopher Coons of Delaware, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska, members of the Armed Services Committee on their arrival at the Songshan Airport in Taipei, Taiwan on Jun 6, 2021. (Pool Photo via AP) -
The United States will donate 750,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to Taiwan as part of the country's plan to share shots globally, US Senator Tammy Duckworth said on Sunday (Jun 6), offering a much-needed boost to the island's fight against the pandemic.
Taiwan is dealing with a spike in domestic cases but has been affected like many places by global vaccine shortages. Only around 3 per cent of its 23.5 million people have been vaccinated, with most getting only the first shot of two needed.
"It was critical to the United States that Taiwan be included in the first group to receive vaccines because we recognise your urgent need and we value this partnership," she said at a news conference after the group arrived from South Korea.
She did not give details of which vaccines Taiwan would get or when. Taiwan Health Minister Chen Shih-chung told reporters he was hoping to find out soon which firm's shots they would get.
Taiwan has complained about China, which claims the democratically ruled island as its own, trying to block the island from accessing vaccines internationally, which Beijing has denied.
Standing by Duckworth's side, Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu thanked the United States for the donation.
"While we are doing our best to import vaccines, we must overcome obstacles to ensure that these life-saving medicines are delivered free from trouble from Beijing," he said.
China has offered Taiwan Chinese-made vaccines, but the government in Taipei has repeatedly expressed concern about their safety, and in any case cannot import them without changing Taiwanese law, which bans their import.
The senators also met with President Tsai Ing-wen at the airport, who said the vaccines, along with those Japan donated last week, would be a great help in their fight against the virus.
"The vaccines are timely rain for Taiwan, and your assistance will be etched on our hearts," Tsai told the senators, in footage released by her office.
US senators and congressmen visit Taiwan routinely in normal times, but coming in the middle of an upswing in infections on the island when its borders remain largely closed to visitors is a strong show of support.
Unusually, they also arrived on a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III freighter, rather than a private jet as is generally the case for senior US visitors.
Taiwan's vaccine arrivals have been gathering pace.
Japan delivered to Taiwan 1.24 million doses of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine on Friday for free, in a gesture that more than doubled the amount of shots the island has received to date//CNA