Taipei, July 21 (CNA) Taiwan’s National Security Bureau (NSB) said Friday it was investigating a suspected leak of classified government documents on the internet reported by Reuters earlier in the day.
The intelligence agency said it had taken note of the recent circulation of suspected government documents, which reportedly include diplomatic cables and classified reports pertaining to Taiwan’s bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), on an online message board.
The bureau said relevant units were investigating the source of the circulated documents, adding that they were also looking into whether the information was part of “the Chinese Communist Party’s cognitive warfare against Taiwan.”
Reuters cited two anonymous Taiwanese officials as saying that some of the leaks were believed to be authentic.
In response to the request for a comment, an official from Taiwan’s Office of Trade Negotiations told CNA that the office had noticed “recent appearances of forged and doctored documents,” without elaborating.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, urged the public not to be “confused by disinformation” and to refer the office, which spearheads the country’s trade talks with other countries or organizations, for information about Taiwan’s efforts to join the CPTPP.
Taiwan, formally known as the Republic of China, applied on Sept. 22, 2021 to join the CPTPP under the name “Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu,” about one week after China submitted its application. Taiwan joined the World Trade Organization in 2002 using the same name.
Beijing, which regards Taiwan as part of Chinese territory, has hinted it would block Taiwan’s CPTPP bid should it successfully join the trade bloc first.
Any new ascension to the CPTPP requires the unanimous support of its signatories, which currently include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.