Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced it will remain involved in the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) despite the removal of language supporting Taiwan from the forum’s recent communiqué.
In a statement on Friday, MOFA urged “like-minded countries to monitor Beijing’s actions closely and protect the harmonious and stable development of Pacific island nations.”
The PIF initially published a communiqué on its website that included a reference to Taiwan. “Leaders at the forum reaffirmed the 1992 Leaders’ decision on relations with Taiwan/Republic of China,” read paragraph 66 of the document. However, that evening, the communiqué was removed from the website, and when it was republished, the reference to Taiwan was omitted.
According to a report from ABC, a PIF spokesperson stated yesterday that the initial inclusion of Taiwan was an “administrative error” and denied that its removal was due to pressure from China. Meanwhile, a report by Nikkei Asia mentioned that China’s Special Envoy to the Pacific, Qian Bo (錢波), expressed anger over the reference to Taiwan. “Taiwan is part of China. Taiwan is not a dialogue partner of PIF, so China represents all of China, including Taiwan and the mainland,” Qian was quoted as saying.
Taiwan has three diplomatic allies within the forum: the Marshall Islands, Palau, and Tuvalu. Palau’s President, Surangel Whipps Jr., reaffirmed his country’s close ties with Taiwan during the forum, stating, “Taiwan has been a partner to all the Pacific Islands and continues to be. If one country decides they don’t want to be their friend or wants to exclude them, that’s not right,” according to a 1News article.
Palau is set to host the Pacific Islands Forum in 2026.