The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Tuesday night demanded that Somalia reverse its decision prohibiting Taiwanese passport holders from entering or transiting through the country.
The Somali Civil Aviation Authority on Tuesday last week issued a notification to all airline operators that starting yesterday, people carrying passports or travel documents issued by Taiwan and its subordinate authorities would not be allowed to enter or transit through Somalia, the ministry said.
Somalia’s government said it made the decision in accordance with the “one China” principle based on UN General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 2758.
Photo: Taipei Times
MOFA “strongly protests Somalia’s imposition of restrictions on Taiwan nationals’ freedom and safety of travel at China’s instigation. It demands that the government of Somalia immediately revoke this notification,” it said in a statement.
“MOFA also solemnly refutes and strongly condemns the Somali government’s misinterpretation of UNGA Resolution 2758, conflation of the resolution with the so-called ‘one China principle,’ and propagation of the falsehood that Taiwan is subordinate to the People’s Republic of China,” it said.
Somalia’s decision comes as Taiwan is boosting ties with Somaliland, which broke away from Somalia in 1991, but has not gained widespread international recognition for its independence.
Taiwan and Somaliland set up representative offices in each other’s capitals in 2020.
Several countries, including the US, have said that UN Resolution 2758 makes no mention of Taiwan’s status and that China has deliberately misinterpreted it.
MOFA, the Taiwan Representative Office in Somaliland and the government of Somaliland have jointly requested that like-minded countries and international organizations take concrete steps “to press for the abjuration of this wrongful action,” the statement said.
The ministry urged Taiwanese against traveling to Somalia or Somaliland for their own safety before Somalia reverses the policy.
Somaliland has had four presidential elections since it declared independence in 1991, showing that it has a stable government, and shares the values of freedom and democracy with Taiwan, the ministry said.
Somalia’s government is preventing people of democratic countries from interacting with each other by controlling Somaliland’s airspace, it added.
The ministry said it would keep the public updated on further developments.
The Somali Civil Aviation Authority did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside of regular business hours in Mogadishu.
A spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said the decision was a legitimate measure taken by Somalia to safeguard its rights and interests.
“It also shows that Somalia firmly abides by the ‘one China principle’ ... we firmly oppose the establishment of institutions or any form of official exchange between the Taiwan authorities and Somaliland,” ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun (郭嘉昆) told a regular news conference in Beijing.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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