Taiwan has received assurances from newly elected Tuvaluan Prime Minister Feleti Teo that his administration would continue diplomatic relations between the two nations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Teo’s comments came after media reports said that the Pacific island ally could switch allegiance to Beijing in the wake of an election last month.
Tuvalu yesterday announced that former attorney general Teo was its new prime minister, after he was elected unopposed by lawmakers.
Photo: screen grab from Teo’s X account
Following the announcement, Ambassador to Tuvalu Andrew Lin (林東亨) congratulated Teo and Tuvaluan Governor-General Tofiga Falani on behalf of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), the Taiwanese government and its people, the ministry said.
The new prime minister has visited Taiwan several times and is known for his Taiwan-friendly stance, it said.
Teo told Lin following his election victory that there is a “consensus” in Tuvalu to maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan, the ministry said.
Photo: Taipei Times
His new administration would continue to work hand-in-hand with Taiwan to promote cooperation projects that benefit people on both sides, the ministry quoted Teo as saying.
His new administration would also continue to uphold Funafuti’s long-held stance of supporting Taiwan’s international participation, Teo said.
Meanwhile, the ministry announced that Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) would visit Tuvalu in the capacity of Tsai’s special envoy to congratulate Teo.
Teo is a former executive director of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission — more commonly known as the Pacific Tuna Commission.
He became a lawmaker after winning the election in Niutao District, unseating his brother and former parliament speaker Samuelu Teo.
Yesterday’s election to determine the new prime minister was due to be held a few days after the nation chose its 16 new members of parliament on Jan. 26, but stormy weather and rough seas prevented several lawmakers from traveling by boat from outer islands to the capital to select a new leader.
There were concerns before Feleti Teo was selected yesterday, after outgoing Tuvaluan minister of finance Seve Paeniu, who secured a seat on Jan. 26 and was said to be a contender for prime minister, told Reuters last month that Tuvalu’s ties with Taiwan “need to be debated and reviewed in the new parliament.”
Paeniu said that the Tuvaluan electorate wanted more financial support from the international community to help the island nation address climate change and other issues.
In contrast, outgoing Tuvaluan prime minister Kausea Natano, who had pledged support for Taiwan, lost his seat in the election.
The ministry had rejected reports suggesting Tuvalu might follow Nauru in severing diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
“The majority of the known newly elected members of parliament are supportive of the Taiwan-Tuvalu relationship,” the ministry said, adding that those people “maintain a friendly stance [toward Taiwan] and back the continuation of the ties between the two countries.”
The election in Tuvalu, a tiny island nation with a population of about 11,000, was closely watched following Nauru’s diplomatic switch from Taipei to Beijing on Jan. 15, shortly after Vice President William Lai (賴清德) won the presidential election.
The ministry has accused Beijing of poaching Nauru, calling the move “a retaliatory act against democratic values and a clear challenge to the stability of the international order.”
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