Partner with Taiwan: A path for the Philippines to break the cycle of climate disaster loss

By Wallace Minn-Gan Chow

THIS YEAR ALONE, the Philippines has endured a relentless procession of storms. Wipha (Crising) in July submerged entire communities in Northern Luzon. Ragasa (Nando) and Bualoi (Opong) arrived back-to-back in late September and brought heavy flooding, forcing thousands into evacuation centers across Eastern Visayas. And just last week, Kalmaegi (Tino) triggered landslides and flooded swaths of the central Philippines, which reportedly killed hundreds of people, with hundreds of thousands displaced. Homes were swept away, rice fields nearing harvest were drowned, and local governments once again scrambled to source relief, rebuild roads, and restore electricity, among others. (This piece was submitted before Typhoon Fung-wong, known locally as Uwan, hit northern Luzon this past weekend. — Ed.)

This story in the Philippines repeats so often that it risks becoming background noise. Yet the cost is staggering, not only in monetary terms or disrupted livelihoods, but also in the exhaustion of constant rebuilding. The 2025 World Risk Index Report has named the Philippines the most disaster-prone country in the world, and its adaptation capacity is struggling to keep pace with the speed of global warming.

Across the Bashi Channel, Taiwan experiences these same typhoons, floods, and landslides, but Taiwan has systematically built a more robust resilience that it can share with the Philippines.

TAIWAN IS A RELIABLE DISASTER RESILIENCE PARTNER
Disasters are natural, loss is not. Rain, earthquakes, and typhoons are normal in our region — what turns natural events into national tragedies is insufficient preparation and systemic fragility.

Over the decades through repeated climate impact, Taiwan has forged battle-tested mechanisms such as a nationwide emergency response system, strict seismic and flood-resilient building standards, advanced warning systems, and annual disaster preparedness drills.

Furthermore, the international outreach has proven Taiwan’s strengths in disaster preparedness and response:

• Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams assisted in global disaster zones, including the 2023 Türkiye earthquake.

• Through APEC, Taiwan has spent nearly two decades advancing emergency preparedness across the Asia-Pacific region.

• The Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF) hosted by Taiwan has facilitated disaster resilience workshops with over 30 participating countries.

• Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction has helped implement flood early-warning systems in Belize, Palau, India, and Indonesia, combining river sensors, forecasting, evacuation planning, and community drills.

Climate change is a pressing problem that requires concerted, collaborative action. The Philippines needs the technical cooperation, training networks, and standardized disaster governance models that Taiwan has already refined. And Taiwan is willing to share with the Philippines its operational, technology-backed, community-rooted expertise.

SUPPORTING TAIWAN’S PARTICIPATION AT COP30 MATTERS
As the world prepares for the 30th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties (UNFCCC COP30) in Belém, Brazil this November, Taiwan remains excluded from this major climate governance mechanism.

Taiwan has voluntarily aligned its climate commitments with the Paris Agreement; it operates the world’s most advanced climate monitoring satellites and has enforceable legislation supporting its 2050 net-zero transition. A climate summit that excludes Taiwan, a country that demonstrates climate solutions, is a summit weakened.

SHARED RISK REQUIRES SHARED ACTION
Taiwan and the Philippines are neighbors not only in geography but in climate destiny. Supporting Taiwan’s meaningful participation in global climate governance is not geopolitics. It is practical climate survival.

If the Philippines is to break the cycle of destruction and rebuilding, it needs partners who understand not just the science, but the storm. Taiwan is one of those partners, and we stand ready to help.

Storms do not ask for visas, floods do not stop at borders, resilience is always stronger when it is shared. I therefore call on our Filipino friends to support Taiwan’s bid to participate in COP30, and to join hands with Taiwan in building a climate-resilient future for our region.

Wallace Minn-Gan Chow is the representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines.