China wins a ‘correction’ against Taiwan after Pacific summit
Taiwan’s ongoing role as a Pacific Islands Forum partner has been stripped from a final communique from a leaders’ meeting attended by Anthony Albanese after a backlash by China.
A reference to Taiwan’s ongoing role as a Pacific Islands Forum partner has been stripped from the final communique issued for the body’s meeting in Tonga this week after a backlash by China.
The communique from the PIF leaders’ meeting was reissued by the forum’s secretariat without explanation after China’s envoy demanded a correction.
The earlier version issued on Friday after the departure of regional including Anthony Albanese affirmed Taiwan’s status as a PIF development partner since 1992.
But the reference was erased from a subsequent version published on Saturday after China’s ambassador to the Pacific nations, Qian Bo, told journalists there “must be a mistake”.
The Chinese envoy said there was language in the statement that should “not be the final communique”, declaring: “There must be a correction on the text.”
Taiwan later accused China of “an arbitrary intervention” and “unreasonable actions” but said the communique did not undermine Taiwan’s status with the PIF.
The Lowy Institute’s Pacific Islands Program director, Mihai Sora, said after the change was revealed that it looked like China had got its way, and “more surprises” could be expected when pro-China Solomon Islands hosted the next ’ meeting.
“This example of how China wields its increasing influence makes it crystal clear that it has interests in the Pacific beyond providing ‘development assistance’,” said Mr Sora, a former Australian diplomat whose postings included Solomon Islands.
“Namely, China wants to eradicate all diplomatic support from Taiwan in the region, even through direct interference in the Pacific Islands Forum leaders’ meeting,” he said.
“Given Qian Bo’s apparent outrage at the original text, perhaps he expected different language. It looks like he got his way on the day, but at what cost to the integrity of the Forum, and to regional unity?
“I’m sure we can expect more surprises the next time Forum leaders meet in 2025, when Honiara will be host,” he said.
Earlier Mr Qian told the ABC and Nikkei: “The situation is obvious. Among the 18 members of the PIF, 15 countries have diplomatic relations with China and 15 countries have categorically stated they stand by the One China principle.”
Taiwan’s Micronesian partners led the pushback against the Solomon Islands’ plan, sparking concerns that forum consensus was under threat. Australia was opposed to any change in the status quo on the forum’s relationship with Taiwan.
Mr Albanese returned from the PIF meeting on Thursday after winning agreement for a $400m regional policing partnership to set up a regional police response group and boost training in Brisbane and three other centres.
The Australian revealed earlier this week that Honiara – the host of next year’s leaders’ meeting and China’s closest partner in the region – was leading the charge to have Taiwan stripped of its status as a PIF “development partner”.
Taiwan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Tien Chung-kwang attended the PIF leaders’ meeting in the Tongan capital, Nuku’alofa, this week, but unlike “tier 1” partners like China and the US, he was unable to address the forum.
Taiwan has official ties with three Pacific Islands states – Marshall Islands, Palau and Tuvalu – despite a concerted push by China to dislodge it from the region’s diplomatic landscape.
Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr had publicly rejected the Solomon Islands’ proposal. “That would obviously be disrespectful of sovereignty,” he said. “We came together as a forum. We have differences of opinion. We respect that.”
A senior Pacific diplomat told The Australian that China had been “heavily lobbying” Pacific countries to support a change in Taiwan’s access to the forum.
Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Peter Shanel Agovaka said this week a review would examine Taiwan’s status as a PIF partner.
Solomon Islands’ Manele government has maintained the country’s close ties with China, underpinned by a controversial security pact signed by former prime minister Manasseh Sogavare.
Taiwan slams China ‘intervention’ after Pacific bloc alters statement
The Taiwanese foreign ministry on Saturday accused China of an “arbitrary intervention” after the joint declaration by Pacific leaders was altered to remove mentions of Taiwan, Agence France-Presse reported.
“Taiwan issued the strongest condemnation on China’s arbitrary intervention and unreasonable actions that undermine regional peace and stability,” the foreign ministry told AFP in a statement on Saturday night.
Self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own territory, also called on “all like-minded countries to closely monitor China’s actions” to safeguard “the harmony and stable development of Pacific island countries”.
Neither PIF nor Chinese officials replied to requests for comment on Saturday.
Palau, Marshall Islands and Tuvalu maintain diplomatic relations with Taipei but face constant pressure to change. Taiwan’s foreign ministry said it had contacted its three Pacific allies “to actively communicate with the PIF Secretariat” in a bid to retain the clause.
“This communique did not undermine our country’s status in the Pacific Islands Forum or exclude our rights to participate in the PIF in the future. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked our allies and like-minded countries for their support for our continued participation in PIF.”
New Zealand’s foreign ministry confirmed to AFP that there had not been a consensus on the paragraph about Taiwan.
“There are a range of views among the 18 Pacific Islands Forum members and part of the ‘Pacific Way’ is respect for different views and the importance of consensus,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
The PIF said in a statement on Sunday morning that it had “re-issued the correct version” of the communique, but did not say why it had been altered.
“The version as finalised does not change nor impact the decisions of the meeting, nor any standing decisions of the forum leaders,” it said.
“The communique is a consensus based document, reflecting the agreed decisions and views of all the Pacific Islands Forum”.
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