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Not even time to uncork to celebrate the weekend’s election victory that the independentists of the DPP in Taiwan, still in shock, must take note of the about-face of Nauru, a 20 square kilometer atoll in Micronesia, the third smallest state in the world behind the Vatican and the Principality of Monaco, which has moved to recognize Beijing on the basis of One China principle. The gesture marks Nauru as the first former ally to side with Beijing after the weekend’s presidential election in Taiwan and brings the Republic of China’s allies to 12.
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During Tsai Ing-wen’s presidency, a dozen states and statelets changed sides that supported David against Goliath, or Taipei against Beijing. Some like Guatemala which has a new government have confirmed the alliance. Paraguay also kept its promise to confirm its support for Taipei in the event of the victory of the previous coalition in the latest elections. Honduras, on the other hand, abandoned an alliance that lasted 82 years after a long back and forth last April.
The few allies
Taiwan’s remaining allies are, therefore, Guatemala, Belize, Haiti, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the Americas. In the Pacific, Taipei is still recognized by the Marshall Islands, Palau and Tuvalu. Swaziland is its only African ally and Vatican City its only one in Europe.
According to Nauru, it was decided to recognize the People’s Republic of China and to seek the resumption of full diplomatic relations “in the best interests of the Republic and the people of Nauru”. The spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that he “welcomes” the change of pace which represents “a new chapter in bilateral relations with Nauru on the basis of the one-China principle”. Instead, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it learned of the decision on Sunday, the day after the island’s elections. “Of course China chose this moment to have the greatest impact,” said Tien Chung-kwang, vice minister of foreign affairs. Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, who is in Guatemala, said he was “very upset.”
Why allies matter
For Beijing, Nauru is Tsai Ing-wen’s tenth “purchase”. Certainly the pressure was decisive nor can it be said that in the event of the victory of the opposition Kuomintang, which is much more favorable to dialogue with China, this would not have happened.