Chinese snubbed at Pacific Islands Forum

Nauru has denied Chinese observers the right to visit the Pacific ­Island Forum on official passports.

Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi threatened to pull out of the Pacific Islands Forum.

Nauru is at the centre of a diplomatic storm after the Pacific ­Islands Forum host nation, which is aligned to Taiwan, denied ­Chinese observers the right to visit on official passports.

Forum chairman Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi threatened to pull out of the meeting over the refusal, while Fiji is also understood to have piled pressure on Nauru. Samoa and Fiji are major recipients of Chinese aid and soft loans.

Nauru President Baron Waqa tried to smooth over the dispute yesterday, saying there had been a “misunderstanding” and the ­Chinese delegation had now be granted visas.

“It so happens that Nauru has no diplomatic relation with China,” Mr Waqa said. “We have a reciprocal arrangement which has been there for a long, long time where … (Nauran) ministers attending multilateral meetings in China aren’t issued visas but are expected to travel on ordinary passports. Also the reciprocal arrangement is that they, too, when they travel here, travel on ordinary passports. That’s quite normal.’’

Mr Waqa said the dispute had been resolved, although he refused to say whether Nauru had stood its ground and forced the Chinese delegates to travel on their personal passports.

Nauru is one of several smaller Pacific states that recognise ­Taiwan, while China maintains close diplomatic relations with larger Pacific nations including Fiji, Samoa and Papua New Guinea.

China has provided Fiji with about $US360 million in aid and loans over a decade, and Samoa about $US230m.

Indebtedness to China is an emerging issue for Australia, which wants to maintain its status as the “natural partner” in the ­region.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne, who arrived in Nauru for the forum last night, said Australia remained the largest contributor of development assistance to Pacific nations, at $1.3 billion in 2018-19.

Australia has been criticised at the annual meeting of 18 Pacific nations over Scott Morrison’s­ ­decision not to attend, and his government’s recent shift on ­climate policy.

The key document to be signed at the forum labels climate change as the “single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of the peoples of the Pacific”.