China Warns of 'Consequences' Over Taiwan's Presence at Pacific Forum

 

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China warned Monday that Taiwan’s participation in the Pacific Islands Forum would carry consequences, escalating diplomatic tension at the annual gathering in Palau, one of only three Pacific countries that still maintain formal ties with Taipei.

Qian Bo, China’s special envoy for Pacific island affairs, told reporters after the opening ceremony that Taiwan’s attendance was widely objected to and should not have happened. “There will always be consequences,” he said, adding that his remark was not a threat and declining to specify what measures Beijing might take.

Taiwan’s foreign minister, Lin Chia-lung, attended the forum for meetings and side events and described the island’s role as constructive. He said Taiwan was honored to serve as a partner in the Pacific and to work with others for a more prosperous and peaceful region. Taiwan participates in the forum as a development partner rather than one of its 21 formal dialogue partners, a list that includes China, the United States, the European Union and Japan.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pushed back Tuesday against the Chinese envoy’s comments, saying the forum alone decides its own affairs. “The Pacific Islands Forum determines what happens here, not any other country,” he told reporters. New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters made a similar point, saying the group does not take instructions from outside countries.

The dispute comes amid a broader contest for influence in the South Pacific. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has progressively reduced the number of Pacific island states with official relations with Taipei. Only Palau, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands remain.

The forum’s 18 members include Pacific island nations, Australia and New Zealand. Several leaders were absent from this year’s meeting, with Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Kiribati represented by ministers instead.

China is Australia’s largest trading partner, but Canberra remains wary of Beijing’s expanding security and development presence in the region. On Tuesday, New Zealand and the United States announced they would jointly fund a major upgrade of a World War Two-era port on a Cook Islands atoll, the latest in a series of efforts by Western partners to reinforce their regional role.