The Taiwanese Prime Minister Vincent Siew has returned from an unannounced visit to Indonesia where he's reported to have discussed the region's financial crisis with President Suharto. The trip was made in defiance of objections from Beijing, which opposes any official contact between Taiwan and foreign governments. As our Chinese affairs analyst James Miles reports, Taiwan is trying to take advantage of Asia's financial difficulties to break through China's diplomatic blockade of the island.

The three-day visit to Indonesia by Taiwan's Prime Minister Vincent Siew is the latest in a series of high level contacts between Taiwan and its Asian neighbours. These contacts are evidence that the region's financial crisis is providing rare diplomatic opportunities for Taiwan.

No Asian country officially recognises the island and China tries to prevent it from having any dealings with other governments. But the continuing strength of Taiwan's economy amid the recent turmoil is encouraging some Asian countries to risk incurring Beijing's wrath by stepping up their contacts with Taipei.

Taiwan's official news agency said Mr Siew met President Suharto of Indonesia for two hours on Tuesday.

They're reported to have discussed the region's financial difficulties, of which Indonesia has been one of the main victims. On his return to Taipei, Mr Siew refused to confirm or deny that such a meeting had taken place, but he said the outcome of his trip had been better than expected.

One third of Taiwanese investment in Southeast Asia is in Indonesia, and Mr Siew said his government would give financial backing to Taiwanese investors to encourage them to stay in the region. Last week, Mr Siew drew an angry response from Beijing by visiting the Philippines. This followed a visit to Singapore by Taiwan's vice president.

Earlier this week, Beijing said such visits were part of what it called a planned, premeditated political move by Taiwan aimed at upgrading the island's relations with Southeast Asian countries. It warned that Taipei's strategy was doomed to failure.