Three sources told Reuters that Taiwan's Vice Foreign Minister Francois Wu recently made an unannounced visit to Israel, as Taiwan seeks defense cooperation with the country. Like most other countries, Israel officially recognizes only Beijing, not Taipei. Taiwan has few official diplomatic relations due to pressure from Beijing, which considers the island its territory and not an independent state. Nevertheless, Taiwan sees Israel as an important democratic partner and provided strong support after the Hamas attack in October. Although senior Taiwanese diplomats make overseas tours, their visits to countries like Israel are rare.
