Taiwan will resume formal diplomatic ties with St. Lucia after a break of 10 years, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said last night.
The re-establishing of ties with St. Lucia -- one of the world's smallest countries with a population of 170,000 -- raises the number of Taiwanese allies to 25.
Taiwan first established diplomatic ties with St. Lucia in 1984 when John Compton was prime minister.
The 82-year-old Compton, who governed the Caribbean state for 29 years, had maintained ties with Taiwan for 13 years before being defeated by the Labor Party in 1996 elections.
St. Lucia severed ties with Taipei the following year when prime minister Kenneth Anthony switched recognition to Beijing.
Compton's United Workers Party won St. Lucia's general elections last December.
Following a secret visit to St. Lucia in mid-December when Compton assumed his post, Foreign Minister James Huang (
The exchange triggered a formal protest from the Chinese embassy in Castries, St. Lucia's capital.
St. Lucia's foreign minister has already announced the switch in parliament, Cabinet spokeswoman Chen Mei-ling (陳美伶) said.
At press time there was no response from Beijing, though it is likely to sever ties with St. Lucia.
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
RSS