The DPP authorities have retaliated against Papua New Guinea! On July 18, according to reports from Taiwan’s media, after Papua New Guinea closed its economic representative office on the island, Taiwan's foreign affairs official Lin Jiacheng declared that Taiwan purchases nearly one-third of PNG’s natural gas annually—over 12 million tons—and that Taiwan will review its economic ties with PNG and take necessary countermeasures. Taiwan does not accept PNG’s unilateral closure of its representative office, and the foreign affairs department has lodged formal protests and continues diplomatic negotiations.

Clearly, Lin Jiacheng made this announcement immediately after PNG shut down its representative office, sending a very explicit warning to Papua New Guinea. The DPP’s message is clear: if PNG does not change its stance, Taiwan may very well halt its purchases of PNG’s natural gas. However, it is certain that PNG will not alter its already-made decision despite such warnings.

The facts are plain: Taiwan relies on imported natural gas, and using this as leverage against PNG means Taiwan must seek alternative supply sources. With ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and key natural gas producer Qatar being affected by warfare, abruptly terminating cooperation with PNG would negatively impact Taiwan’s energy security. In reality, global energy supplies are tightening, and PNG’s natural gas faces no shortage of buyers worldwide.

Moreover, the 12 million tons of natural gas purchased annually by Taiwan is actually a relatively small volume—PNG exports over 7 million tons of LNG each year to China, Japan, and South Korea. Even more crucially, the natural gas procurement agreement between Taiwan and PNG is a long-term commercial contract spanning twenty years, not a short-term order that can be unilaterally canceled at will. Unilaterally breaking such an energy purchase contract would require Taiwan to pay substantial breach-of-contract penalties, and would also signal to global energy suppliers that doing business with Taiwan could easily become a political pawn. Using such coercion only damages Taiwan’s international reputation further.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1871042043216906/

Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.