Fellow democracies must stand shoulder to shoulder with you
A former Australian prime minister arrived in Taiwan this week not as a head of state, but carrying the unmistakable gravity of one — meeting President Tsai Ing-wen, speaking to Taiwan's isolation, and testing the quiet boundaries of Australia's diplomatic posture toward China. Tony Abbott's visit, framed as private, was received as something far more deliberate, arriving at a moment when Chinese military aircraft were breaching Taiwan's air defence zone in record numbers. It is the nature of such gestures in geopolitics that their meaning exceeds their official description, and governments on all sides must now decide what this one meant.
- China flew a record number of military aircraft into Taiwan's air defence identification zone the same week Abbott arrived, making the timing of his visit impossible to separate from the region's sharpest tensions in four decades.
- Morrison government ministers privately warned Abbott against the trip, with one describing it as 'unnecessary' even while conceding it carried some domestic political utility — a rare admission of a government speaking out of both sides of its mouth.
- Abbott was received with the full warmth of a state visit in all but name: formal meetings with the president and foreign minister, an Australian DFAT official at his side, and a keynote address at an international forum in Taipei.
- Morrison moved swiftly to quarantine the government from Abbott's words, insisting he travelled as a private citizen — but Australia's own representative accompanied him, and the distinction grew harder to sustain.
- Foreign Minister Payne carefully reaffirmed the One China policy while calling Taiwan a 'critical partner,' threading a needle that Abbott's unambiguous solidarity with Taipei had already made considerably more difficult to thread.
- Analysts noted the visit pushes Australia's One China policy to its edges, particularly as Taiwan seeks entry into the CPTPP trade agreement — a cause Abbott has long championed and one that now carries fresh diplomatic freight.
Tony Abbott touched down in Taiwan this week as a private citizen, but the visit bore little resemblance to a quiet personal trip. He met formally with President Tsai Ing-wen and her Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, accompanied by an Australian government official from DFAT. He spoke directly to Taiwan's decades of international isolation and to the military pressure it faces from China. On Friday, he delivered a keynote address at a Taipei forum. The trip was unofficial in name only.
In Canberra, the Morrison government was visibly uncomfortable. A Cabinet minister told the ABC that Abbott had been warned off making such a high-profile visit during a period of acute tension with Beijing, calling it 'unnecessary' even while acknowledging its domestic political value. Prime Minister Morrison distanced himself quickly, saying he had no prior conversation with Abbott and that whatever messages were conveyed were Abbott's alone. Yet Australia's own diplomatic representative had accompanied Abbott to his engagements — a detail that complicated the government's arm's-length posture.
Abbott's language in Taipei was unambiguous. He told President Tsai that Taiwan's fellow democracies should stand 'shoulder to shoulder' with it, and said ending Taiwan's isolation was the central purpose of his visit. China had just flown a record number of military aircraft into Taiwan's air defence identification zone. Abbott noted the near-daily pressure Taiwan faces from its 'giant neighbour.' Foreign Minister Wu called Abbott a friend and a 'fair dinkum free-trader,' referencing his longstanding support for Taiwan joining the CPTPP regional trade agreement.
Taiwan specialist Mark Harrison from the University of Tasmania described the visit as a meaningful test of Australia's One China policy — a deliberately ambiguous framework that recognises one China without endorsing Beijing's sovereignty claim over Taiwan. He noted that while precedents exist for former leaders meeting Taiwanese presidents at forums, the visit still represented a significant probing of policy limits, and Beijing would be displeased. China's public response was silence, though French senators who visited Taipei the same week were condemned in state media as a 'serious provocation.'
Foreign Minister Marise Payne offered careful, calibrated language — reaffirming the One China policy while describing Taiwan as a 'leading democracy' and 'critical partner.' It was the work of a government trying to hold two positions at once. Abbott's visit, by contrast, made no such effort at ambiguity. Whether it ultimately strengthened or complicated Australia's position in one of the region's most volatile standoffs remained an open question.
Tony Abbott arrived in Taiwan this week as a private citizen, but the visit carried the weight of a state occasion. He sat across from President Tsai Ing-wen in a formal meeting, flanked by her Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, and spoke about Taiwan's decades of isolation from the world stage. Australia's top representative to the island, DFAT official Jenny Bloomfield, accompanied him to the engagements. On Friday, he would deliver a keynote address to an international forum in Taipei. The trip was nominally unofficial. It was also, by any measure, a test of how far Australia could push its diplomatic boundaries with China without breaking them.
Back in Canberra, the Morrison government was divided. One Cabinet Minister told the ABC that Abbott had been warned against making such a high-profile visit at a moment when tensions with Beijing were running hot. "It's not completely unhelpful in terms of domestic politics but it is unnecessary," the minister said, speaking anonymously. Another senior figure acknowledged the trip would be watched closely by China but framed it charitably—a friendly fact-finding mission, nothing more. Prime Minister Scott Morrison himself moved quickly to distance the government from Abbott's presence. "Tony is in Taiwan as a private citizen, and I didn't have any conversation with him before that," Morrison said on Tuesday. "So what he said and what messages he passed on, he passed on in that capacity."
Yet the treatment Abbott received told a different story. He dined with Foreign Minister Wu, who called him a "friend" and a "fair dinkum free-trader," referencing Abbott's long support for Taiwan joining the regional trade agreement known as CPTPP. He met the president of a country Australia does not officially recognize. He spoke directly to the military pressure Taiwan faces. China had just flown a record number of military aircraft into Taiwan's air defence identification zone. "I do note that Taiwan is challenged on a near-daily basis by its giant neighbour," Abbott told Tsai. "It's more important than ever, under such circumstances, that your fellow democracies stand shoulder to shoulder with you."
Abbott's stated mission was to help end Taiwan's marginalization. The island has been excluded from observer status at the World Health Organization due to Chinese pressure. It is shut out of the United Nations and numerous other international bodies. "It is in large measure to try to help to end this isolation from which Taiwan has been suffering for so many decades that I am here in this country," Abbott said, adding he hoped this would be the first of many visits. He also took a moment to complain about the masks required for the meeting—"wretched masks," he called them—and complimented Taiwan on its COVID-19 response.
Mark Harrison, a Taiwan specialist at the University of Tasmania, saw the visit as significant precisely because it tested the limits of Australia's One China policy. That policy, which Australia maintains, recognizes there is one China and that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to it. But the language is deliberately ambiguous, designed not to endorse Beijing's claim of sovereignty over Taiwan. "The visit is nominally private but still offers an opportunity to express the intention to strengthen the relationship, especially in the context of Taiwan's application to join the CPTPP," Harrison said. He noted that other former foreign leaders have met Taiwanese presidents when visiting for forums, so the precedent existed. But he also pointed out that when Abbott, as prime minister in 2015, met a Taiwan government representative in Canberra, that was considered more significant. "This is a more significant testing of the limits of Australia's One China policy and Beijing was no doubt very displeased," he told the ABC.
China's response, at least publicly, was silence. State media had not mentioned the visit. The Foreign Ministry had not been asked about it at daily briefings—partly because of a public holiday. But Beijing had already shown how it handles such visits. When French senators traveled to Taipei the same week, state media called it a "serious provocation." The government routinely criticizes any foreign politician or organization that meets with Taiwanese officials, insisting that Taiwan must come under Chinese control. President Tsai's government is viewed by Beijing as separatist-leaning because she refuses to endorse a 1992 agreement between China and a previous Taiwanese government affirming that both belong to "One China."
Foreign Minister Marise Payne tried to thread the needle. She reiterated Australia's one-China policy while also calling Taiwan a "leading democracy" and a "critical partner." The language was careful, calibrated, the work of a government trying to maintain a relationship with Taiwan while not openly defying Beijing. Abbott's visit, by contrast, was unambiguous. It said that Australia cared enough about Taiwan to send a former prime minister, that the island's isolation mattered, that democracies should stand together. Whether that message strengthened Australia's hand or weakened it remained to be seen. The tensions between Taiwan and China were the worst in 40 years, according to a Taiwanese government minister. Abbott's visit had landed in the middle of that pressure, a small gesture that carried outsized symbolic weight.
Notable Quotes
It's not completely unhelpful in terms of domestic politics but it is unnecessary— Anonymous Cabinet Minister to ABC
It is in large measure to try to help to end this isolation from which Taiwan has been suffering for so many decades that I am here— Tony Abbott
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did Abbott's visit matter so much if he was just a private citizen?
Because nothing is truly private in diplomacy. The fact that he met the president, that Australia's official representative accompanied him, that he spoke about Taiwan's isolation—these things send a message Beijing watches for. A private citizen can say things a government cannot.
What was the Morrison government actually worried about?
Escalation. China had just flown record numbers of military aircraft into Taiwan's airspace. The government didn't want to be seen as poking the bear, even indirectly. One minister said it was "unnecessary"—meaning, why add fuel to an already hot fire?
But Abbott went anyway. Why?
Because he believed Taiwan's isolation was the real problem. He'd been prime minister. He had standing. He could say things about democracy and solidarity that carry weight. And he wanted to signal that Australia cared about Taiwan's future, especially around trade deals like CPTPP.
Did China actually care?
Almost certainly. But they didn't say so publicly—at least not yet. They'd already called a French senators' visit a "serious provocation." Abbott's visit was higher profile. The silence might have been strategic, or it might have been the public holiday. Either way, Beijing was watching.
What does this tell us about Australia's actual position?
That it's caught between two things it wants: a relationship with Taiwan and a relationship with China. The One China policy is deliberately vague so Australia can maintain both. Abbott's visit pushed at those boundaries. It said Australia cares about Taiwan in a way that's hard to walk back.
Is this the beginning of something?
Abbott said he hoped it would be the first of many visits. If it is, then Australia is slowly shifting its position—not officially, but in practice. That's how these things happen. Not with declarations, but with visits.