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KEY POINTS
  • Nauru will revive ties with China after dropping Taiwan as a diplomatic ally.
  • Taiwan said China had offered Nauru much more money than Taiwan provides its allies.
  • Nauru has recognised China before, between 2002 and 2005
Taiwan has lost one of its few remaining diplomatic allies Nauru to China, just , and accused China of attempting to pressure it while it affirmed the will of Taiwanese to go out into the world.
China with no right to state-to-state ties, a position Taiwan strongly disputes.
Taiwan security officials told the Reuters news agency before Saturday’s election that China would continue to whittle away at the handful of countries that maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taipei.

Lai Ching-te, repeatedly criticised by China before the poll as a dangerous separatist, won the election for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and will take office on 20 May.

A man waves with colourful paper confetti raining down on him.

Lai Ching-te, also known as William Lai, emerged victorious in Taiwan’s presidential election over the weekend. Source: AAP / Louise Delmotte

The government of the tiny Pacific Island nation of Nauru said that “in the best interests” of the country and its people it was seeking full resumption of diplomatic relations with China. Nauru has recognised China before, between 2002 and 2005.

“This means that the Republic of Nauru will no longer recognise the Republic of China (Taiwan) as a separate country but rather as an inalienable part of China’s territory, and will sever ‘diplomatic relations’ with Taiwan as of this day and no longer develop any official relations or official exchanges with Taiwan,” it said in a statement.
Taiwan Deputy Foreign Minister Tien Chung-kwang told a hastily arranged news conference on Monday that news of the break had come suddenly.
Beijing specifically chose the sensitive timing after the election to target Nauru, Tien said, calling the move “ambush-like” and equivalent to a “a blatant attack on democracy” just as many countries were offering congratulations to Taiwan on the smooth voting process.
“Taiwan did not bow to the pressure. We elected what we want to elect. That’s unbearable for them,” he added.
China had offered Nauru, with a population of 12,500, money far in excess of what Taiwan provides its allies, Tien said.

China’s foreign ministry said it appreciated and welcomed Nauru’s decision.

The move leaves Taiwan with only 12 diplomatic allies, including the Vatican, Guatemala and Paraguay, plus Palau, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands in the Pacific.
Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu is in Guatemala attending the inauguration of its new president.
Nauru is a small and remote Pacific Island nation that uses Australian currency and generates revenue from fishing licences and hosting a regional processing centre for refugees for the Australian government.
An Australian bank providing the country’s only banking service announced in December its plan to close its Nauruan operation.
Australia provides policing support and is a major aid donor, contributing A$46 million in development assistance in 2023.

The refugee processing centre was forecast to generate A$160 million in 2024, although Australia plans to wind it down over time.

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