New Tuvalu govt vows to stick with Taiwan, questions Australia pact

FUNAFUTI, Tuvalu: Tuvalu’s new government on Wednesday pledged to keep up its “special” relationship with Taiwan, ending speculation that the Pacific island nation was poised to switch diplomatic recognition to Beijing.

In a statement of priorities released as his government was sworn in Wednesday, Prime Minister Feleti Teo reaffirmed the “long-term and lasting special relationship” with Taiwan.

Tuvalu, with a population of 11,000, is one of just 12 states that still have formal diplomatic relations with Taipei rather than Beijing.

During the election campaign, a senior lawmaker floated the idea that Tuvalu’s new government could review its Taiwan ties.

That set off frenzied speculation about a looming shift in policy, causing the election to be closely watched from the United States to China.

Andrew Lin, Taiwan’s ambassador to Tuvalu, tried to end that speculation on Monday, telling AFP he had received assurances from the new government “that the relationship between Taiwan and Tuvalu is firm, rock solid, durable and everlasting”.

Teo’s government said however that it did want to “reassess options” to “strengthen and lift” relations with Taiwan — to establish a “more durable, lasting, and mutually beneficial relationship”.

And there was also a vow to revisit a recent landmark pact with Canberra that offered Tuvalu citizens a climate refuge in Australia.

Tuvalu said it wanted to work with Australia to create a “workable arrangement” that would safeguard its sovereignty.

Under the treaty inked between the two countries in November, Tuvalu’s citizens would have the right to live in Australia if their homeland is lost beneath the Pacific.

Two of the country’s nine coral islands have already largely disappeared under the waves, and climate scientists fear the entire archipelago will be uninhabitable within the next 80 years.

The pact commits Australia to defending Tuvalu in the face of natural disasters, health pandemics and “military aggression”.

But it also offers Australia a say in any defence pacts Tuvalu signs with other countries, raising concerns on the island that Tuvalu was handing over its sovereignty.

In a statement, the island’s new government said it supported the “broad principles and objectives” of the treaty.

But it criticised it what it deemed a lack of transparency or consultation with the people of Tuvalu on such an “important and groundbreaking initiative”.

Tuvalu’s government said it planned to work with Australia towards a “workable arrangement” that would advance the treaty’s goals, “in particular safeguarding the integrity of the sovereignty of Tuvalu.”

The agreement is seen as a significant strategic win for Australia as it fends off China’s attempts to expand its security reach in the Pacific region.