Taiwan yesterday severed diplomatic ties with Nauru after the South Pacific state’s sudden switch of recognition to China, two days after the presidential and legislative elections.
The Nauruan government yesterday said that “in the best interests” of the nation and its people it was seeking full resumption of diplomatic relations with China.
“This means that the Republic of Nauru will no longer recognize the Republic of China (Taiwan) as a separate country, but rather as an inalienable part of China’s territory, and will sever ‘diplomatic relations’ with Taiwan as of this day and no longer develop any official relations or official exchanges with Taiwan,” it said in a statement.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
In Taipei, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) told a news conference yesterday that to “safeguard national sovereignty and dignity,” Taiwan had decided to terminate diplomatic relations with Nauru with immediate effect.
The nation also ended all bilateral cooperation projects, and recalled staff from its embassy and technical mission in Nauru, as well as requesting that Nauru close its embassy in Taipei, he said.
After the switch, Taiwan has official diplomatic relations with 12 UN member states.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs obtained information last year showing that China had been contacting political figures in Nauru and using economic incentives to convince the nation to switch ties, Tien said.
Former Nauruan president Russ Joseph Kun had planned a diplomatic shift and displayed an indecisive attitude during his visit to Taiwan in October last year, which he planned to cancel at one point, he said.
The Nauruan parliament ousted Kun in a vote of no confidence on Oct. 25 last year and elected David Adeang on Oct. 30, after which relations temporarily stabilized, he said.
However, Nauru continued to ask for huge amounts of economic aid from Taiwan and the amounts requested “far surpassed” what Taiwan normally provides to diplomatic allies for cooperation projects, which proved China has once again engaged in “dollar diplomacy” to lure away Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, he added.
Taiwan “deeply regrets” that the Nauruan government has disregarded long-term assistance from Taiwan and the friendship between the two nations, Tien said.
The government has implemented plans in Nauru that benefit the livelihood of its people, and its national development in fields such as agriculture and fisheries, medical and healthcare, education, vocational training, energy, infrastructure, economy and trade, and women’s empowerment, he said.
Taiwan also condemned the former ally for acting in concert with China and misinterpreting UN Resolution 2758, which Beijing manipulates to claim that Taiwan is part of China, he added.
Taiwan established diplomatic relations with Nauru in 1980, but terminated the ties after it switched recognition to Beijing in 2002. Nauru restored its ties with Taiwan in 2005 when China failed to provide most of the aid programs it had promised.
Taiwan urges Beijing to “give up confrontation and return to the track of the international order” to seek mutually beneficial solutions with Taiwan and all parties in the region, Tien said.
Presidential Office spokeswoman Lin Yu-chan (林聿禪) said it is “deeply regrettable,” as Nauru’s decision is not beneficial to people on both sides or regional stability.
China’s continued efforts to lure Taiwan’s diplomatic allies with false promises and to suppress the nation’s international space would not sap the Taiwanese will to engage with the world, nor do they change the fact that Taiwan and China are not subordinate to each other, she said.
The Democratic Progressive Party yesterday said that Taiwan would not yield to China’s attempts to limit its international space through diplomatic means.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) blamed the DPP administration for causing multiple diplomatic challenges, while calling on Beijing not to suppress the international space of the Republic of China.
Calling Nauru’s move regrettable, Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said it was necessary to maintain diversified exchanges with other nations to create common interests, strengthen cooperation and build influence with them.
Additional reporting by Reuters and CNA
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