SECOND ALLY IN A WEEK: Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu said that there is ‘nothing to worry about’ regarding the nation’s four remaining Pacific allies
Taipei Times
Date: Sep 21, 2019
By: Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter
Taiwan yesterday lost a second diplomatic ally in a week after Kiribati decided to switch recognition to
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu, center, is accompanied by ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou, right, and Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Director-General Baushuan Ger, as he addresses a news conference in Taipei yesterday about Kiribati severing diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Taiwan “regrets and strongly condemns” Kiribati for disregarding the years of assistance and friendship that Taipei had extended to Tarawa, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) told a news conference at 1pm yesterday, adding that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received a formal notice of the termination of relations from Kiribati at about 11am.
The government “hereby declares that it is terminating diplomatic relations with the Republic of Kiribati effective immediately, ending all bilateral cooperative projects and recalling the staff of its embassy, technical mission and medical mission stationed in Kiribati,” Wu said.
The Solomon Islands cut ties with Taipei on Monday, making Kiribati the seventh to switch allegiance to Beijing since 2016, following Sao Tome and Principe, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Burkina Faso, and El Salvador. [FULL STORY]