Ties with Nauru are stable despite the Nauruan president’s last minute cancellation of a visit to Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, while acknowledging that Beijing had increased its efforts to entice Taiwan’s allies.
Nauru President Marcus Stephen was scheduled to visit this week, but had to cancel his trip at the last minute because of a domestic matter, ministry spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh (葉非比) said.
Yeh said that ties between the two countries were stable and bilateral projects and communication between the two countries were taking place as normal.
The Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) reported yesterday that ties might be in danger because of disagreements in Nauru’s parliament over the country’s allegiance to Taiwan. The report said that China was going all-out to convince Taiwan’s remaining 23 allies to switch sides.
“Media speculation about shaky ties between the two countries was unfounded and Taiwan maintains a healthy relationship with both the ruling and opposition parties of Nauru,” Yeh said.
Stephen has repeatedly expressed his country’s support for Taiwan. He was quoted as saying that Nauru was often referred to as the smallest republic, but it nevertheless has a strong voice and a valuable vote in the UN.
Yeh said, however, that China had been greatly encouraged after persuading Costa Rica, Taiwan’s ally for 60 years, to break ties with Taipei last June.
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