Taiwan on Monday terminated diplomatic relations with Nauru, after the Pacific nation announced it was to recognize the People’s Republic of China (PRC), effective immediately.
Nauruan President David Adeang made the announcement in a video posted online on Monday afternoon.
The Nauru government said that "in the best interests" of the country and its people, it was seeking full resumption of diplomatic relations with China.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kun, Taipei Times
"This means that the Republic of Nauru will no longer recognize 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.
Nauru established relations with Taiwan in 1980, then switched to recognize the PRC in 2002 before re-establishing relations with Taiwan in 2005.
The decision leaves Taiwan with 12 allies, including other Pacific nations Palau, the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu.
In a news conference called to respond to the decision, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would sever ties, after Nauru made its announcement citing UN Resolution 2758 and the “one China” principle.
Taiwan would also immediately cease all bilateral cooperation, withdraw its staff and technical missions, and requested that Nauru close its embassy in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said.
On X, the ministry said it regrets the end of relations between the two countries.
"This timing is not only China’s retaliation against our democratic elections but also a direct challenge to the international order," it said. "Taiwan stands unbowed & will continue as a force for good."
Additional reporting by CNA and Reuters
‘LAGGING BEHIND’: The NATO secretary-general called on democratic allies to be ‘clear-eyed’ about Beijing’s military buildup, urging them to boost military spending NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte mentioning China’s bullying of Taiwan and its ambition to reshape the global order has significance during a time when authoritarian states are continuously increasing their aggression, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. In a speech at the Carnegie Europe think tank in Brussels on Thursday, Rutte said Beijing is bullying Taiwan and would start to “nibble” at Taiwan if Russia benefits from a post-invasion peace deal with Ukraine. He called on democratic allies to boost defense investments and also urged NATO members to increase defense spending in the face of growing military threats from Russia
PEACEFUL RESOLUTION: A statement issued following a meeting between Australia and Britain reiterated support for Taiwan and opposition to change in the Taiwan Strait Canada should support the peaceful resolution of Taiwan’s destiny according to the will of Taiwanese, Canadian lawmakers said in a resolution marking the second anniversary of that nation’s Indo-Pacific strategy on Monday. The Canadian House of Commons committee on Canada-Chinese relations made the comment as part of 34 recommendations for the new edition of the strategy, adding that Ottawa should back Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations. Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, first published in October 2022, emphasized that the region’s security, trade, human rights, democracy and environmental protection would play a crucial role in shaping Canada’s future. The strategy called for Canada to deepen
LEAP FORWARD: The new tanks are ‘decades more advanced than’ the army’s current fleet and would enable it to compete with China’s tanks, a source said A shipment of 38 US-made M1A2T Abrams tanks — part of a military procurement package from the US — arrived at the Port of Taipei early yesterday. The vehicles are the first batch of 108 tanks and other items that then-US president Donald Trump announced for Taiwan in 2019. The Ministry of National Defense at the time allocated NT$40.5 billion (US$1.25 billion) for the purchase. To accommodate the arrival of the tanks, the port suspended the use of all terminals and storage area machinery from 6pm last night until 7am this morning. The tanks are expected to be deployed at the army’s training
TECH CONFERENCE: Input from industry and academic experts can contribute to future policymaking across government agencies, President William Lai said Multifunctional service robots could be the next new area in which Taiwan could play a significant role, given its strengths in chip manufacturing and software design, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman and chief executive C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said yesterday. “In the past two months, our customers shared a lot of their future plans with me. Artificial intelligence [AI] and AI applications were the most talked about subjects in our conversation,” Wei said in a speech at the National Science and Technology Conference in Taipei. TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, counts Nvidia Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc, Apple Inc and
RSS