By Renju Jose
SYDNEY, Sept 1 (Reuters) – China said it had serious concerns about Taiwan’s presence at the annual Pacific Islands Forum in Palau, warning of “consequences” after the democratically ruled island attended the group’s opening ceremony on Monday.
China views Taiwan as its own territory, and China-Taiwan tensions have featured prominently at the meeting, which was intended to demonstrate regional unity.
“There will always be consequences,” Qian Bo, China’s special envoy for Pacific island affairs, said of Taiwan attending the event. “It’s not a threat,” he said without specifying what the consequences would be.
“This is objected to by all, so this should not have happened. We think it’s very inappropriate to do so,” he told reporters on Monday after an opening ceremony in Palau, an archipelago of over 500 islands that has maintained diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
The leaders of Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Kiribati did not attend the gathering of the 18-member group that counts Australia, New Zealand and Pacific island nations as members.
There was no immediate comment by Taipei.
Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung was invited for meetings and side events held alongside the forum. Taiwan is not a formal dialogue partner of the forum like China, but a development partner. The U.S. and Japan are also dialogue partners.
China has gradually whittled away the number of Pacific Island countries with formal ties to Taipei, with only three remaining – Palau, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands.
New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters told ABC News that he was “highly suspicious” of the number of absent leaders.
However, his Australian counterpart, Penny Wong, said on Tuesday that leaders make their own decisions about travel and that there were a range of reasons why some could not attend.
“Australia’s view is this is a very important forum. And I know Prime Minister (Anthony Albanese), who has arrived, is looking forward to engaging with his counterparts,” Wong told ABC News.
Though China is Australia’s largest trading partner, Canberra remains wary of Beijing’s expanding influence in the Pacific and is pursuing security deals with island nations to prevent China from establishing a permanent military presence in the region.
Australia and its ally the United States have long considered the South Pacific to fall within their sphere of influence.
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
