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SYDNEY: The Pacific Islands Forum removed references to Taiwan from a communique issued after the region’s annual leaders’ meeting on Friday (Aug 30) in protest at comments by China’s envoy.
The group consists of 18 countries, three of which have diplomatic relations with Taiwan and 15 that recognise China. China is a major lender for infrastructure development in Pacific island nations, where Beijing is seeking to increase its security presence.
A communique posted on the forum’s website on Friday included a section titled “Relations with Taiwan/Republic of China” that stated “the leaders reaffirmed the 1992 decision of the leaders on relations with Taiwan/Republic of China.”
The communique was removed from the website late Friday following China’s angry response, and a new document was released Saturday morning that deleted the reference to Taiwan.
The forum’s secretariat did not respond to a Reuters request for comment and Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had no immediate comment.
Taiwan, a development partner of the forum since 1993, sent Vice Foreign Minister Tian Zhongguang to Tonga to meet with its three Pacific allies, Palau, Tuvalu and Marshall Islands.
Qian Bo, China’s special envoy for Pacific island affairs, reacted angrily on Friday, telling reporters in Tonga that mentioning Taiwan in the communique was “definitely a mistake.”
“This is definitely a mistake. This is definitely a mistake,” Qian Bo, China’s special envoy for Pacific island affairs, told reporters on Friday.
“This is an astonishing mistake that someone made. I’m not sure, but I think it has to be corrected.”
Qian Qichen previously stated that he had contacted the EU Secretariat in the hope of clarifying the situation.
The Chinese Embassy’s website shows that Qian Qichen lobbied this week to exclude Taiwan from the forum’s official activities.
“Any attempt by the Taiwan authorities to enhance their presence by engaging with the forum is nothing but self-deception,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a regular news conference in Beijing on Friday.
Taiwan’s number of diplomatic allies in the Pacific has shrunk in recent years as China has increased its development funding. Nauru cut ties with Taiwan in January and severed ties with Beijing; Kiribati and the Solomon Islands also cut ties with China in 2019 and both countries now have Chinese police stationed.
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