Nauruan President Lionel Aingimea, who is in Taiwan for his first foreign visit since assuming office in August, yesterday reaffirmed Nauru-Taiwan relations amid ongoing Chinese expansion in the South Pacific.
Aingimea on Friday arrived in Taiwan for a five-day state visit, his third to Taiwan and first as president.
The bilateral relations are significant, Aingimea said, adding that he sees Taiwan as family.
Photo: CNA
“When you start using words like family, it takes it up to a different level, a level that ensures that when things happen within family, family sticks together,” Aingimea said in an interview with the Central News Agency.
He said that Nauru-Taiwan relations are not limited to development, but also include a personal element, citing as an example Nauruans who study in Taiwan and take Taiwanese culture and customs with them when they return home.
He also enumerated Taiwan’s assistance to Nauru in education, police matters, agriculture, fisheries and renewable energy, as well as Taiwan’s contribution to the Intergenerational Trust Fund established in 2015 by several regional partners.
China has not attempted to pressure Nauru to switch diplomatic relations, probably because Beijing knows Nauru’s political stance and realizes that it would be a wasted effort to approach Nauru on that issue, Aingimea said.
“We are concerned about China’s increased presence in the Pacific. We reject the ‘one China’ principle and the ‘one country, two systems’ framework, and recognize that Taiwan is a sovereign and independent nation,” he said.
Aingimea welcomed a proposal by Tuvaluan Minister for Justice, Communication and Foreign Affairs Simon Kofe, who visited Taiwan last month, to form a coalition that supports Taiwan against China’s suppression.
Australia and New Zealand have taken steps to counter China’s expansionist strategy in the South Pacific, with initiatives such as “Pacific Step-up” and “Pacific Reset,” while the US is to hold a meeting with its allies next year for relevant discussions, Aingimea said.
To counter China’s dollar diplomacy, the three traditional partners also increased assistance to Nauru, Aingimea said, adding that there are no Beijing-funded infrastructure projects in Nauru.
However, a new port is being constructed in the country by a Chinese company, he said, adding it is an Asian Development Bank project and the Chinese company won the bid.
Nauru would need Taiwan’s expertise to operate the port when it is completed, so its economy can diversify from its heavy reliance on fishing and phosphate mining, Aingimea said.
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