The island nation of Nauru has switched its diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing hours after the presidential election took place in Taiwan.
The government of the tiny island country, the smallest republic in the world, said in a statement to have decided to recognise the One-China policy over Taiwan’s right to self-rule and would work to resume full diplomatic relations in “the best interests of the Republic and people of Nauru”.
China replied through its Foreign Affairs Ministry, saying Beijing welcomed Nauru’s decision, a move which “demonstrates once again that the One-China principle is the will of the people and the trend of the times”, a statement claimed.
Nauru’s decision marked a major blow to Taiwan, which is now left with only 12 formal diplomatic allies.
The self-governing island, which China claims as part of its territory and considers a breakaway province rather than an autonomous country, is said to have learnt about Nauru’s move on Sunday.
One day prior, Taiwan had held its presidential election won by the Democratic Progressive Party’s Lai Ching-te, also known as William Lai, who supports Taiwan remaining a self-governed island.
Taipei didn’t hide its disappointment, with Tien Chung-kwang, the island’s Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, saying during a press conference held on Monday: “Of course China chose this moment to have the biggest impact”. He added Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu had been left “very upset” by the news.
Mr Tien accused China of “buying over” Nauru with financial aid. He added it was “too hypothetical” to know whether an election victory by Beijing’s preferred party, the Kuomintang, would have still led Nauru to switch its position.
Nevertheless, he said: “No matter what the election result is, I think China is always trying to suffocate Taiwan, including in any international organisation. I think it’s a very good example for people around the world to see how they treat Taiwan.”
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Tien also confirmed it had severed its ties with Nauru to “uphold [Taiwan’s] sovereignty and dignity”. He added: “This timing is not only China’s retaliation against our democratic elections but also a direct challenge to the international order.”
Nauru has become the 10th country to have cut its diplomatic relations with Taiwan over its self-governing desire since 2016. In April last year, Honduras announced it would start supporting the One-China policy, whilst admitting it was struggling financially – a major hint the decision had largely been based on financial incentives.
It is not known whether Nauru made financial demands or received financial offers from China ahead of its move on Sunday.
This isn’t the first time the tiny country, located 3,000km north-east of Australia, has switched between Taiwan’s self-governing right and the One-China policy. Nauru had relations with Taipei from 1980 to 2002. That year, it decided to start supporting Beijing, but resumed its relations with Taiwan in 2005.
Taiwan’s remaining supporters are Guatemala, Belize, Haiti, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Marshall Islands, Palau, Tuvalu, Eswatini and Vatican City.
Many Western nations including the US back Taipei but formally support the one-China policy without giving recognition to the claim Taiwan is part of the Chinese state’s territory.
