Taiwan’s Deputy Foreign Minister made secret trip to Israel

Indeed, Taiwan offered strong diplomatic support, despite pressure from Beijing, to Israel in the wake of the October 7 attacks, and has generally refrained from criticising its operations in Gaza, in stark contrast to the CCP’s hostile approach.

Likewise, Taipei condemned Iranian missile launches against Tel Aviv earlier this year as “seriously damaging regional and global peace and stability,” adding: “Taiwan and all peace-loving democratic partners around the world together condemn [Iran’s] use of force, and call for the relevant parties to exercise restraint and resolve the conflicts through diplomacy and communication to prevent the crisis from expanding.”

And the two countries recently signed an artistic and cultural exchange deal, while Israel’s Hebrew University sent a delegation of its East Asian Studies department on a research trip to a Taiwanese think tank in September.

Reuters’ sources did not disclose whether defence cooperation was discussed during Wu’s visit, including whether there were talks about Taiwan’s new “T-Dome” air defence system, which is partially modelled on Israel’s Iron Dome.

The Taiwanese Foreign Ministry also refused to comment on the reported trip, but did tell Reuters: “Taiwan and Israel share the values of freedom and democracy, and will continue to pragmatically promote mutually beneficial exchanges and cooperation."