One of Taiwan’s last diplomatic allies has cut ties with the island in favour of Beijing, just days after a new president was voted in in Taipei.
Nauru, a tiny Micronesian island, was just one of 12 countries that kept diplomatic ties with Taipei.
But in recent years, Beijing – which insists Taiwan is part of China – has been poaching its diplomatic allies.
Taiwan suggests this latest loss is related to the weekend’s election results, which angered China.
The election saw voters pick pro-sovereignty candidate William Lai as their next president, a man Beijing has labelled a “troublemaker” over remarks he made in the past supporting Taiwanese independence, which it sees as a red line.
In a media conference on Monday, Taipei’s deputy foreign minister Tien Chung-kwang accused China of taking advantage of recent “political fluctuations” in Nauru to “buy over” the country with financial aid.
Still, his ministry remains “on strong alert” to combat further moves from China to isolate Taiwan on an international stage, he said.
China – which sees the self-ruled island of 23 million as a breakaway province that will eventually be under Beijing’s control – welcomed Nauru’s decision.
This is not the first time Nauru has cut ties with Taiwan, which considers itself distinct from the Chinese mainland, with its own constitution and democratically elected leaders.
In 2002, Nauru made a similar diplomatic switch to China – it later restored relations with Taiwan in May 2005.
Analysts said the move by Nauru was not unexpected.
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