During the Post Forum Dialogue on Niue last week Taiwan had to meet with Nauru, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Marshall Islands and Palau, at a motel several kilometers from the main Forum venue.
All seven countries have issued a statement criticizing the Forum for its stance.
Taiwan’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrew Li-Yan Hsia said his country, which built itself up through donor aid, has a lot to offer the region, and they want a different approach by the Forum.
“We are really sincere in trying to reach out to countries in the region. All these projects we have mentioned not just benefit our diplomatic allies, but to benefit all the countries in this region, so we certainly hope there will be a coming to our dialogue [to] make this Forum Dialogue more meaningful, more comprehensive,” he said.
The Forum’s stance on Taiwan was to appease China, which is an official dialogue partner.
The newly appointed secretary general of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Tuiloma Neroni Slade, said that future cooperation between China and the Pacific island countries was very essential.
“As it is, we need to work with China because of the role that China has played so far. I think the potential of the role, one of friendship and the cooperation,” Slade said.
“Many of the problems confronting the region are not of our making. Whether you are talking of the resources, whether you are talking about trade, climate change and economy, we certainly need the cooperation and support from China,” he told Xinhua News agency.
