Pacific unity tested as Taiwan-China tensions play out at Palau Forum

The Pacific Islands Forum is facing a test of unity in Palau with five leaders absent and tensions between Taiwan and China playing out openly at the regional summit.

Taiwan’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Lin Chia-lung, has used a rare media appearance at the Forum to defend Taipei’s place in the Pacific and warn island countries against giving in to pressure from Beijing.

China has hit back, saying Taiwan has no place at a Forum it is not formally part of and warning there will be "consequences" over its presence.

The standoff comes as Pacific leaders grapple with how to protect the region’s voice while dealing with growing pressure from the United States and China.

Green MP Teanau Tuiono says the absence of five leaders is a blow to the Forum’s ability to make decisions for the region.

“I mean, that's not good. That's not good for cohesion,” he told William Terite on Pacific Mornings. “The point of the Pacific Islands Forum is to actually give our region a voice, so it's an incredibly important forum.”

Listen to Teanau Tuiono's full interview below.

Tuiono says Pacific countries need space to manage their own relationships with the region’s major powers and not be pushed to take sides.

“I think it doesn't help that New Zealand's been sticking its oar in the water and trying to get people to oppose China as well because, of course, everybody has to deal with the two big guys.

“Pacific Island nations need to be able to deal with that as well. They're experiencing those tensions with a lot less resources than we do.”

Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr and Taiwan’s Foreign Affairs Minister Lin Chia-lung in Koror. Photo/Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taiwan

Labour Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni, who has attended the Forum in the past, says the meeting remains important but was surprised by the number of leaders unable to attend.

“I was surprised to see the number of leaders that couldn't attend this time round," she told Terite.

She says climate change also needs to remain a priority for the Forum.

“But you know, I would say it's still a very important forum, and that we need to make sure that New Zealand is in there supporting, partnering, and encouraging the influence of that forum.”

The tensions have been on display in Palau.

Lin told reporters Taiwan wanted to work with Pacific countries as a partner rather than asking them to choose between Taipei and Beijing.

Watch Carmel Sepuloni's full interview below.

“We are friends and family,” he said. “There is a Taiwan saying: only children have to make a choice, adults do not have to choose between families.”

China’s special envoy to the Pacific, Qian Bo, offered a very different view, saying Beijing had serious concerns about Taiwan’s presence at a Forum where it is not a dialogue partner.

“Taiwan is not a dialogue partner with the forum so we have serious concerns,” he told media.

Only three of the 18 Pacific Islands Forum members - Palau, the Marshall Islands, and Tuvalu - have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

Lin says Taiwan has supported Pacific regional initiatives for decades, including an annual US$1 million (NZ$1.7 million) contribution to the Council of Regional Organisations of the Pacific for 33 years.

But he also warned Pacific countries against giving ground to Beijing. “If we give in to China, it will only ask for more,” Lin said. “This is a lion's lair and we must draw a bottom line.”

Watch PMN News Political Reporter Thomas Tarurongo Wynne's update from Palau below.

Tuiono says the bigger question is whether the Forum can insulate Pacific countries from the growing contest between the two powers.

“I would like it if they used it as a space to kind of insulate the region from those tensions,” he told Terite.

He is not confident the Palau meeting will deliver major results. “Doesn't look like it, to be honest. I mean, if they can't even get people around the table.”

The challenge for Pacific leaders is whether they can hold the region together and maintain a united voice while managing relationships with the major powers competing for influence across the Pacific.

The 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting ends on Friday. For more details, click here.