Taiwan has rejected Chinese pressure over its participation in the 55th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), with Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung saying there was no reason to give in to Beijing’s objections and stressing Taiwan’s role as a development partner in the Pacific.
Lin criticised what he described as Chinese harassment after Qian Bo, China’s special envoy for Pacific Island Countries Affairs, warned there would be “consequences” for Taiwan’s participation. Qian told reporters that Beijing had “serious concerns” about the space being given to Taiwan and said China had made its position clear to the government of Palau and the PIF secretariat.
Taiwan is not a member of the PIF but has participated in its activities as a development partner since 1993. Lin said that only the forum’s 18 member states could make decisions concerning the organisation, rejecting the suggestion that China should determine whether Taiwan could take part.
Lin thanked Palau, the host country, for enabling him to make a rare appearance at a major annual political gathering of Pacific nations. He said he was “very happy” to participate in this year’s forum and expressed particular gratitude to Palau for making arrangements for Taiwan’s participation.
“I am very happy to be able to participate in this year’s Pacific Islands Forum [PIF], and I have to give special thanks to the host country Palau for the arrangement,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs quoted Lin as saying.
Lin did not elaborate on the nature of the arrangement, but said Taiwan was honoured to be a partner in the Pacific and would continue working with its partners to promote greater prosperity and peace across the region.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Lin said, “Taiwan believes that the more united and cooperative the Pacific is, the greater its ability to shape its own future.” He also pledged that Taiwan would remain a “reliable and responsible partner” in efforts to maintain regional peace and prosperity.
Taiwan has sought to build its role in the Pacific through areas including digital technology, healthcare and smart agriculture. Last year, it pledged NT$90 million (US$3 million) to the Pacific Resilience Facility, a regional climate and disaster fund intended to address the needs of Pacific communities.
The dispute comes after non-member partners were excluded from last year’s PIF summit in the Solomon Islands. Taiwan, the United States and China were among those barred from participating after the host country prevented partner countries from attending while it reviewed the forum’s partnership arrangements.
Media reports at the time suggested that the Solomon Islands, which established diplomatic relations with China in 2019 and ended its relationship with Taipei, sought to block Taiwan’s participation under pressure from Beijing.
Taiwan typically holds the Taiwan/Republic of China Forum Countries Dialogue and other events alongside the PIF’s annual summit, but rarely participates in the forum’s official meetings. The opening ceremony of this year’s 55th PIF Leaders Meeting began in Koror on Sunday and runs through Friday.
The confrontation reflects the wider contest between Beijing and Taipei for diplomatic and political influence across the Pacific. China has sought to expand its presence in the region while further isolating Taiwan internationally, including by persuading several of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies to recognise Beijing.
Three of the PIF’s 18 member states — Palau, the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu — maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. The forum itself seeks to address common regional challenges and facilitate multilateral cooperation, placing Taiwan’s participation at the centre of a broader dispute over who determines the Pacific’s partnerships and political engagement.
