By Li Hsien | 2025-05-26

A number of countries in recent years have significantly expanded their diplomatic staff and reinforced their "quasi-diplomatic" offices in Taiwan despite China's long-running efforts to diplomatically isolate the nation.

Though Taiwan has only 12 official diplomatic allies, its relations with major global powers have continued to deepen.

In 2016, then-President Tsai Ing-wen held a historic phone call with then US President-elect Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, Germany resumed high-level visits by sending a ministerial official for the first time in 26 years in March 2023. The speaker of the lower chamber of the Czech parliament the same month led an official delegation to Taiwan.

Taiwan hosted about 400 foreign diplomats and de facto representatives in 2024, a one-third increase from 2022, according to figures shared with Nikkei Asia on May 8 by an official familiar with the matter.

Expanded missions

While many countries do not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, they have offices staffed by personnel from their foreign and economic ministries that handle consular services and cultural exchanges.

The number of personnel at these offices has grown in recent years.

The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the United States' the de facto embassy in Taiwan, exemplifies this trend. Its Taipei office staff has grown more than 120% to 550 personnel since 2009.

"AIT has grown in numbers as its importance has increased," former AIT director Stephen Young told Nikkei Asia in May.

This growth sends a clear message that Taiwan matters to major countries and is not isolated, he said.

The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association has also more than doubled its staff to 110 in the past five years, including adding a second deputy representative.

The United Kingdom's Taipei office staff has grown by over 40% in six years. Germany, Sweden and Australia have expanded their missions, with Australia creating a new "director of strategic affairs" role in 2022 and Japan sending an active-duty Self-Defense Forces officer as a military attaché.

Germany and the Czech Republic have added new positions related to political and cultural affairs. In 2024, the Czech Republic established the Czech Center in Taiwan to deepen the countries' cooperation in culture and technological policy.

Growing importance

Tthere has been a major transformation in Taipei's post-COVID diplomatic environment, Kuo Yu-jen, vice president of the Institute for National Policy Research (INPR) in Taiwan, told Focus.

Beyond the increased number of foreign diplomats, delegations are interacting more frequently with Taiwanese think tanks.

Kuo highlighted collaborations with INPR on research topics such as submarine cables and information warfare with Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea and the United States.

According to Kuo, recent global events have all underscored Taiwan's strategic value, including the 2019 Hong Kong protests, Taiwan's COVID-19 response, the war in Ukraine and China's military drills following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's 2022 visit.

These developments indicate Taiwan's evolution from a politically sensitive and previously marginalized position to a key player in the Indo-Pacific strategy.

"Taiwan has always been important," aligning its resources and values with the national interests of many countries, said Kuo.

"Whether in democratic principles, high-tech industries, defense and security, international public health or global trade, Taiwan's contributions are all 'global public goods,' making it a vital contributor to the international community," he said.

Expanding overseas staffing is a major strategic decision for national governments amid Beijing's objections, Kuo said.

When countries recognize Taiwan's importance, they are choosing to respond to global realities with greater pragmatism, focusing less on Beijing's opposition and more on countering Chinese coercion, infiltration and threats such as economic espionage and hacking, he said.