Taiwan ally Nauru breaks off ties, but U.S. delegation touts ‘rock solid’ support

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The Pacific nation of Nauru on Monday broke off diplomatic ties with Taiwan and recognized China, in a blow to Taipei days after the ruling Democratic Progressive Party won a historic third presidential term.

China claims Taiwan as its territory and refuses to have relations with any country that officially recognizes the island. Under Chinese President Xi Jinping, Beijing has aggressively gone after Taipei’s dwindling number of diplomatic allies, offering trade and other inducements to win them over.

As that number has shrunk – to 12 after Nauru’s move – the DPP has faced criticism from opposition parties for not doing enough to protect Taipei’s standing on the global stage. But while officially Taiwan can seem isolated, under current President Tsai Ing-wen the island has ramped up unofficial engagement with other Asian democracies and the West.

The success of this approach was seen in the wave of congratulations that poured in – from the U.S., Canada, Japan and the European Union, among others – after Ms. Tsai’s vice-president Lai Ching-te was elected to succeed her Saturday, winning 40 per cent of the vote.

It was also evidenced by the presence in Taipei of a delegation of retired senior U.S. officials, who landed soon after Mr. Lai’s victory. Speaking alongside Ms. Tsai on Monday, former U.S. national security advisor Stephen Hadley said “Taiwan’s democracy has set a shining example to the world.”

Taiwan’s president-elect faces a hostile China – and a divided people

“We are honoured to have the opportunity to meet with you today to reaffirm that the American commitment to Taiwan is rock solid, principled and bipartisan and that the United States stands with its friends,” he added.

“We look forward to continuity in the relationship between Taiwan and the United States under the new administration.”

President-elect Mr. Lai, meeting the group later at DPP headquarters, said he hoped the U.S. would deepen co-operation with the island. Mr. Lai said his administration will “keep defending peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait” as Ms. Tsai has done.

During the election, China made clear it did not wish to see Mr. Lai victorious, calling him a “separatist” and warning a vote for the DPP was a vote for war. Beijing has responded angrily to statements from other countries congratulating Mr. Lai. The Chinese embassy in Ottawa criticized Canada for doing so, saying “the Taiwan issue” and “the Taiwan region’s elections” are China’s internal affairs.

The Communist Party has never controlled Taiwan, which has been self-ruled since 1949 and spent much of its history outside of Chinese control. A large majority of Taiwanese people do not identify as Chinese, and only a small number support eventual unification with China.

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said Chinese statements that “Taiwan is part of China” were a “cliché not worth refuting” and “completely inconsistent with international understanding and the current cross-Strait situation.”

A sense that China is losing Taiwan has led to increasingly aggressive posturing from Beijing, which has fired missiles into Taiwanese waters and conducted large-scale military drills around the island in recent years. Most analysts agree that China is nowhere near ready to invade Taiwan, however, and Taipei has invested in beefing up its military deterrent in the hopes of making such a war infeasible.

In his victory speech, Mr. Lai hoped for some kind of rapprochement with Beijing, but China has not given him even the slightest grace period. James Chen, a professor at Taiwan’s Tamkang University, described the Nauru announcement as China playing “another hard hand,” pointing out it must have been planned well in advance of Saturday’s election results.

Taiwan’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Tien Chung-kwang, described the move as an “ambush.” In a statement, Ms. Tsai’s office accused China of using “false promises” to win over diplomatic allies, and said this latest setback would not “hinder the will of Taiwan’s people to go out into the world.”

During the campaign, Mr. Lai promised to maintain Ms. Tsai’s approach of building ties with other democracies that, while perhaps not official allies, might help dissuade Beijing from launching a war that would have devastating global repercussions.

Canada plays a role in this. Ottawa has sent naval vessels through the Taiwan Strait on freedom of navigation operations designed to push back against Beijing’s territorial claims, and Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy promises to “oppose unilateral actions that threaten the status quo” over Taiwan.

Taiwan is one of Canada’s most important Asian trading partners, and in December, Taipei and Ottawa signed a Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, after years of negotiations.

“We’re grateful to the Canadian government over the past few years for their consistent support for Taiwan in the international space,” Vincent Chao, director of the DPP’s Department of International Affairs, told The Globe and Mail last week.

He noted a growing number of visits by Canadian parliamentarians to Taiwan, as well as increased economic and cultural exchanges. Last year, Taiwan also expanded its diplomatic presence in Canada, opening a new office in Montreal, while Taiwanese company E-One Moli is building a billion-dollar battery cell production plant in Maple Ridge, B.C.

“Canada is a very important partner for Taiwan,” said Mr. Chao. “I think there is a strong foundation to develop our relationship even further.”

With files from Reuters and the Associated Press.