Taiwan and the United States have co-hosted a "Global Cooperation and Training Framework" workshop in New Zealand for the first time, a positive development for Taiwan's efforts to widen its diplomatic space in the Pacific.

• Taiwan and the US co-hosted a workshop on Pacific disaster management in Auckland in late September, the first time the two countries have jointly held such an event in New Zealand.
• Participants included disaster response officials and experts from member states, associate members and observers of the Pacific Islands Forum.
• Cowan, chargé d'affaires at the US Embassy in New Zealand, publicly described Taiwan as a global model of disaster resilience, praising its early warning systems and its whole-of-society disaster preparedness.
• Joanne Ou, Taiwan's representative to New Zealand, stressed that Taiwan sits on a seismic belt and is frequently hit by typhoons and floods, and said Taiwan is willing to share its disaster prevention experience with Pacific island countries.
• The Pacific island countries are a key arena of diplomatic competition between China and the West, and disaster prevention cooperation has become an entry point for Taiwan to maintain a regional presence.

Outlook: Taiwan is expected to continue working with the US through the GCTF model, using practical issues such as disaster management as its main channel for opening up relations with Pacific island countries.