Taiwan’s deputy foreign minister made secret trip to Israel

TAIPEI/JERUSALEM –

Taiwan’s high-profile deputy foreign minister, Francois Wu, made a previously unpublicized visit to Israel recently, three sources familiar with the trip said, at a time when Taiwan is looking to the country for defense cooperation.

Taiwan has few formal diplomatic ties due to pressure from Beijing, which views the island as one of its provinces and not a country. Like most other countries, Israel only officially recognizes Beijing and not Taipei, and while senior Taiwanese diplomats do travel abroad, trips to countries such as Israel are rare.

Still, Taiwan views Israel as an important democratic partner and offered strong support to the country after the October 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel and subsequent war in Gaza, and since then there has been an increased level of engagement.