Taiwan president to visit allies in South Pacific as rival China seeks inroads

Under unit from China, which claims Taiwan arsenic its territory and threatens to annex it by unit if needed, Taiwan has conscionable 12 ceremonial diplomatic allies. However, it retains beardown contacts with dozens of different nations, including the US, its main root of diplomatic and subject support.

China has sought to whittle distant accepted alliances successful the South Pacific, signing a information statement with the Solomon Islands soon aft it broke ties with Taiwan and winning implicit Nauru conscionable weeks aft Lai’s predetermination successful January. Since then, China has been pouring wealth into infrastructure projects successful its South Pacific allies, arsenic it has astir the world, successful speech for governmental support.

China objects powerfully to specified US stopovers by Taiwan’s leaders, arsenic good arsenic visits to the land by starring American politicians, terming them arsenic violations of US commitments not to spend diplomatic presumption to Taiwan aft Washington switched ceremonial designation from Taipei to Beijing successful 1979.

With the fig of its diplomatic partners declining nether Chinese pressure, Taiwan has redoubled efforts to instrumentality portion successful planetary forums, adjacent from the sidelines. It has besides fought to clasp what diplomatic presumption it holds, including refusing a request from South Africa past period that it determination its typical bureau successful its erstwhile diplomatic state retired of the capital.