Taiwan's return to summit triggers Beijing warning
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China issued a stern warning to a top Pacific Islands diplomat, cautioning against actions that could disrupt "the healthy and stable development of ties" with China, following Taiwan's declaration to participate in an upcoming regional summit. The island nation was barred from the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting last year due to Beijing's objections, asserting sovereignty over Taiwan.
Baron Waqa, the forum's secretary-general, announced on Friday that Taiwan would indeed participate in this year's gathering. Beijing's Foreign Ministry responded, urging the Pacific Islands Forum secretary to strictly follow the "one-China principle," appropriately address Taiwan-related matters, and refrain from actions that could strain China-forum relations.
Since 2019, Nauru, Kiribati, and Solomon Islands have severed diplomatic ties with Taipei, with the latter even preventing Taiwan's attendance when it hosted the meeting last year, disinviting all external countries despite their dependence on foreign aid and investment. Palau, currently hosting the forum from August 30 to September 4, is one of Taiwan's remaining 12 diplomatic partners, alongside Tuvalu and Marshall Islands.
Pacific Island foreign ministers struggled to reach consensus on a unified response to China's recent missile launch, with a few ministers reportedly resisting a joint statement. New Zealand's foreign minister acknowledged this resistance but declined to specify the dissenting countries, naming only Nauru and Kiribati based on an official source.
Written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
