The 55th Pacific Islands Forum is currently taking place in Palau (also known as Taiwan’s Palau). The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) strongly opposes Taiwan’s participation and has threatened that “there will be consequences.” Australia and New Zealand immediately rebutted, stating that the decision of who to invite to the meeting is up to the Pacific Islands Forum itself and not to be dictated by external countries.
Despite never having ruled Taiwan, the CCP has always attempted to unify Taiwan and prevent its participation in international conferences. The tension between the two sides has always been a focal point of the annual Pacific Islands Forum meeting. The forum consists of 18 member countries, including Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific Island nations.
Palau is the host country for this year’s forum and is one of the few Pacific Island nations that maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Taiwan is not a formal dialogue partner of the Pacific Islands Forum but is a development partner. The forum’s 21 dialogue partners include the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Canada, India, Japan, China, and others. For this year’s forum, Palau invited Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu to attend.
Taiwan’s representative participated in the opening ceremony of the Pacific Islands Forum on Monday (August 31). CCP Special Envoy for Pacific Island Affairs, Qian Bo, stated after the opening ceremony that Taiwan’s presence at the forum would have consequences, without specifying what those consequences would be. He also mentioned that everyone opposes this, so this situation should not have occurred.
Palau’s President Surangel Whipps Jr. expressed in his speech at the forum, “We welcome partners to sail with us, but we decide the destination ourselves.”
President Whipps has been outspoken in criticizing the CCP. One day before the forum’s opening ceremony (August 30), he stated that the CCP is trying to coerce Palau on the Taiwan issue, and he will not be bullied.
On Tuesday (September 1), while attending the forum, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese responded to CCP’s opposition to Taiwan’s participation by saying that the Pacific Islands Forum will determine which countries attend the summit.
“The affairs here are decided by the Pacific Islands Forum, not by any other country,” he said.
When asked by the media if Taiwan’s presence would distract attention, Albanese stated, “I am not distracted, I am focused on the members of the Pacific family, which is what this meeting is about. I believe this is primarily about the Pacific family, especially the meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum members. I look forward to engaging with them, which is what I have always looked forward to.”
New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters also challenged the CCP, stating that the forum would not accept commands from external countries.
The Prime Ministers of Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and the President of Kiribati did not attend the forum but sent ministerial-level officials.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Foreign Minister Peters expressed “strong suspicion” that the absence of some leaders was due to foreign interference. Peters did not directly blame the CCP but mentioned that New Zealand would verify the situation before making any accusations.
A spokesperson from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Peters’ comments were baseless.
Australian Prime Minister Albanese also referenced the CCP’s ballistic missile test in July.
“We have been very clear that this is unacceptable, it is not the behavior of a friend but a provocative act, it is inappropriate. Like some other Pacific countries, we have made our stance very clear.”
(This article was referenced from Reuters.)