Taiwan has applied to Washington for advance clearance of its United States-bound travelers and, if successful, will become the first territory in the Asia-Pacific to be granted the arrangement.

The application, for passengers starting out from Taipei’s Taoyuan International Airport, came to light during a speech delivered by U.S. Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf at the Heritage Foundation and released on Monday. The Taiwanese foreign ministry confirmed its application on Wednesday.

Under the program, U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel are stationed at designated foreign airports to inspect travelers prior to the boarding of flights headed for the States.

Taiwan was ready to join the preclearance program, the island’s President Tsai Ing-wen said at a ceremony celebrating the 40th anniversary of the U.S.’ Taiwan Relations Act last year.

The Taipei government applied for the program through its representative office in the U.S. after applications opened on Sept. 29, and the application was under review, foreign ministry spokesperson Joanne Ou said. The ministry and the relevant departments would work together to communicate closely with Washington over the application, she said.

Hong Kong considered implementing preclearance for U.S.-bound travelers in 1970 but scrapped the plan because of a lack of space at its then airport, in Kai Tak. In South Korea, the Incheon International Airport announced joining the program in 2014 but gave it up later after an analysis showed the arrangement might affect the revenue of duty-free shops.

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