Taiwan cementing ties with allies

Deputy Foreign Minister Yang Tzu-pao has returned from a critical trip to Malawi to try to cement ties with the African country. The trip comes on the heels of a Malawian newspaper report that said Malawi is paving the groundwork for diplomatic ties with China.

The foreign ministry said on Monday that Yang is on a mission to seek clarification from Malawian authorities.

In related news, Foreign Minister James Huang said on Tuesday that Central and South America is another area of concern. He said Panama especially is an elected member of the UN Security Council, so it must cooperate with China on several issues. The foreign ministry also said that currently relations with Panama are stable. But it is still focusing much attention on the Central American country.