MANILA - The government of Taiwan is urging the World Health Organization (WHO) to let it fully participate in meetings regarding the fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

In a statement released Monday, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines urged the WHO to invite Taiwan to participate in COVID-19 related meetings, as well as restore its observer status in the World Health Assembly.

"We hereby urge WHO to invite Taiwan to fully participate in all WHO meetings and mechanisms regarding the fight against COVID-19, and restore Taiwan’s observer status in the World Health Assembly. Taiwan being granted full involvement in WHO would allow us to share our successful experience with the world more effectively, and put an end to the pandemic as quickly as possible," the statement said.

TECO also expressed its regrets on the accusations earlier made against Taiwan by WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on April 8.

"Dr. Tedros’ groundless accusations regarding personal attacks on him from Taiwan are seriously misleading to the international community. The government of Taiwan demands that the Director-General immediately correct his trumped-up claims, issue a clarification and apologize to the people of Taiwan," the statement said.

• Taiwan condemns 'groundless' accusations it attacked WHO chief

TECO also said that the lessons Taiwan learned from the 2003 SARS pandemic made the government "take effective preventive and proactive response measures against COVID-19, including treatment, tracking, quarantine and mitigation."

"Thus Taiwan created a widely recognized Taiwan Model that the international community hopes to learn from," the statement said.

The Taiwanese government also announced on April 9 that it will be donating 6 million medical masks to partner countries under Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy and other friendly nations.

Of this number, the Philippines will receive 300,000 medical masks.

Tension earlier flared as Taiwan accused the World Health Organization (WHO) of playing word games in a dispute over details it sought in an email querying if the new coronavirus could be transmitted between people.

• Taiwan, WHO spar again over coronavirus information sharing

Taiwan is not a WHO member, because of objections from China, which claims the island as its own and deems it to have no right to membership of international bodies. - with a report from Reuters