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Pacific group changes stance as Taiwan slams China ‘interference’

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Pacific group changes stance as Taiwan slams China ‘interference’

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Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday accused China of “arbitrary interference” after a joint statement by Pacific leaders was amended to remove references to Taiwan.

“Taiwan expresses its strongest condemnation of China’s unwarranted actions to arbitrarily interfere and undermine regional peace and stability,” Taiwan’s foreign ministry told AFP in a statement.

Self-ruled Taiwan – which Beijing claims as its own territory – also called on “all like-minded countries to pay close attention to China’s actions” to maintain “harmony and stable development of Pacific island countries.”

China’s rebuttal came after it criticised an earlier statement by Pacific leaders as a “mistake” that “must be corrected”, before Pacific leaders re-issued a statement removing references to Taiwan.

The two sides issued a “clear” joint communique on Friday after five days of talks in Tonga, reaffirming a three-decade agreement to allow Taiwan to participate in the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).

But the wording immediately drew the ire of Chinese diplomats, who put pressure on Pacific leaders to revise the document.

On Saturday morning, the forum reissued its communique without explanation and conspicuously deleted a paragraph about the regional organization’s “relationship with Taiwan.”

Neither the Pacific Islands Forum nor Chinese officials responded to requests for comment on Saturday.

Qian Bo, China’s special envoy for Pacific island affairs, told reporters on Friday that the reference to Taiwan was “an unexpected mistake made by someone” and insisted it “must be corrected.”

Qian Qichen previously stated that he had contacted the EU Secretariat in the hope of clarifying the situation.

The original paragraph — titled “Relations with Taiwan/Republic of China” — said the leaders “reaffirmed” a 1992 decision paving the way for Taiwan’s participation in the forum.

Beijing actively seeks to exclude Taiwan, a self-governing island of more than 23 million people, from international bodies and refuses to recognize its autonomy.

“Pacific Road”
The South Pacific was once seen as a bulwark of support for Taiwanese statehood, but China has gradually undermined that bulwark.

Over the past five years, the Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Nauru have all been persuaded to sever diplomatic ties with Taipei and recognize Beijing instead.

Beijing has insisted that its diplomatic allies withdraw their recognition of the self-governing island.

Palau, the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu maintain diplomatic relations with Taipei but face pressure to change them.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it has contacted three Pacific allies and “actively communicated with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat” to try to retain the clause.

“But in the end the member states decided to compromise the opinions of all parties and issue a consensus-based joint communiqué in the spirit of diversity and inclusiveness of the ‘Pacific Way’,” the Taiwan spokesperson added.

“This communique does not undermine our position in the Pacific Islands Forum, nor does it preclude our right to participate in the Pacific Islands Forum in the future.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs thanks our allies and like-minded nations for their support for our continued engagement with the Pacific Islands Forum.”

The Solomon Islands, China’s main partner in the South Pacific, has been lobbying to strip Taiwan of its “development partner” status in the Pacific Islands Forum.

The US territories of Guam and American Samoa were promoted to associate members of the forum against the will of the Solomon Islands.

New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed to AFP that the two sides had not yet reached a consensus on the paragraph concerning Taiwan.

“There is a range of views among the 18 Pacific Islands Forum members and part of the ‘Pacific way’ is to respect different perspectives and value consensus,” a spokesman said in a statement.

Source: Manila Times

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