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China voiced its opposition to Taiwan joining a meeting of Pacific island nations this week, with Beijing’s envoy threatening unspecified consequences over its presence at the conference.
Palau, a stunning West Pacific archipelago of less than 20,000 people, is one of a dozen remaining nations that maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan. As host of this year’s Pacific Islands Forum, it invited Taiwan’s foreign minister to attend, one of Taipei’s few remaining avenues for international exposure.
“We certainly have serious concerns,” China’s special envoy to the Pacific Qian Bo told reporters in Palau on Monday. “Taiwan is not a dialogue partner for the forum, so we have serious concerns. We have made our position very clear to the government of Palau.”
“There will always be consequences,” he added.
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The status of Taiwan is among Beijing’s top sensitivities, and it regards the self-governing democratic island as part of its territory, despite never having ruled it.
China has long sought to isolate the island’s leaders by blocking diplomatic meetings and participation in global organizations, including an extensive effort earlier this year to disrupt travel of Taiwanese officials as far afield as Eswatini in southern Africa.
Beijing has pressed nations to switch diplomatic recognition to China. A quarter of Taiwan’s remaining 12 partners are in the Pacific — the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu, in addition to Palau. Taiwan, along with other nonforum members such as China, Japan and the U.S., were excluded from last year’s forum hosted by the Solomon Islands, a rare disruption of Taipei’s usual attendance since the early 1990s.
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At the opening ceremony Monday in Palau’s commercial hub of Koror, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-Lung was seated directly behind Japan’s representative, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Iwao Horii, and shook hands and chatted briefly after the event with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.
Pacific nations have increasingly become an arena for geopolitical competition between the U.S. and China in recent years, particularly after Beijing and the Solomon Islands signed a security pact in 2022, setting off alarm bells in Washington and Canberra.
Concerns rose again over China’s presence in the region after it test fired a nuclear-capable missile in July, which splashed down near Tuvalu.
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Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Tuesday that it’s clear nations are vying for influence.
“I’ve been very upfront that we are in a state of permanent competition, permanent contest in the Pacific,” she said. “The stability and prosperity of the Pacific contributes to Australian stability and our prosperity.”
Even before the Pacific Islands Forum, Beijing looked to be putting pressure on Palau, issuing a warning its citizens not to travel to the tropical archipelago because there had been “a number of theft and robbery cases targeting tourists.”
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The Solomon Islands and its competing alliances also emerged during the forum, as Prime Minister Matthew Wale rushed back home after a no-confidence motion was filed against him.
Elected earlier this year, Wale had pivoted away from Beijing and questioned the 2022 security agreement. Losing the leadership would be a major blow to Australia, New Zealand and the U.S., which have been trying to develop a series of alliances and relationships across the Pacific to head off Beijing.
The Solomons’ leader had also joined Australia in criticizing China’s test launch of a nuclear-capable missile in the Pacific, but had failed to unite all the islands in condemning that action at a meeting in August.
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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who’s in Palau for the summit, has driven efforts to link up with Pacific nations via military and security deals since taking office in 2022, including with Fiji and Papua New Guinea. Albanese had been looking to ink a deal with Wale as quickly as possible.
Asked on Tuesday about the Chinese representative’s comments about Taiwan, Albanese said: “The Pacific Island Forum determines what happens here, not any other country.”
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The president of Palau used his welcome address to appeal to his Pacific counterparts to resist the geopolitical tensions and focus instead on issues such as climate change that represent an existential threat to the region.
“The world increasingly recognizes the strategic importance of our region. We welcome friends and genuine partnerships,” said President Surangel Whipps Jr.
“Yet attention is not the same as respect,” he said. “Our partners are welcome to sail with us but they do not choose our destination. The Pacific agenda must be driven by us.”
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