Tuvalu Prime Minister calls for Pacific unity amid Taiwan tensions

Tuvalu Prime Minister Feleti Teo is urging Pacific leaders to remain united as the region faces potential diplomatic tensions concerning Taiwan's participation in the upcoming Pacific Islands Forum in Honiara.

Speaking exclusively to Pacific Mornings, Teo acknowledged media speculation about whether Taiwan’s Pacific allies might be excluded from key meetings in the Solomon Islands.

"I hope we don't get to that stage because we don't need any further friction between the forum family,” Teo says.

"We've been given the assurance, personal assurance by the Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, that that won't be the case.

“So at the moment, I would like to think that the forum is still intact and strongly paddling together forward.”

Tuvalu is one of the four Pacific countries, alongside the Marshall Islands, Nauru, and Palau, that maintains formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan rather than China.

Feleti Teo spoke at the UN Financing for Development Conference in Seville, Spain earlier this month. Photo/Tuvalu Government Facebook

As Tuvalu continues to be at the forefront of the impacts of climate change, it has prompted a historic migration agreement with Australia under the Falepili Treaty.

Under this agreement, 280 Tuvaluans can gain Australian residency annually.

Addressing the significant interest in this migration scheme, Teo emphasised the importance of managing expectations among the Tuvaluan community, with reports suggesting as many as 4000 applications have been submitted.

Feleti Teo with Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Photo/Tuvalu Government

"I'm not that surprised. It's a new initiative and it has generated a lot of interest.

“Mindful, the ballot is not only open for Tuvalu citizens that are on island, it's also open to Tuvalu citizens that are living abroad, so I'm not that surprised by the large number of interest.”

Teo also addressed concerns around Tuvalu's sovereignty under the Falepili Treaty, clarifying that safeguards are built into the agreement to protect national interests.

"The treaty is not something that is going to lock in for the rest of Tuvalu's life.

“If Tuvalu feels that Australia is not behaving according to the spirit of the treaty and is compromising the sovereignty of Tuvalu, then we can simply terminate the treaty or suspend it.”

Reflecting on frustrations with major powers like the United States rolling back climate commitments such as the Paris Agreement, Teo called for Pacific solutions developed within the region itself.

Watch Feleti Teo's full interview here

"It’s very frustrating. It's a big dent on the confidence of a small island developing state in the utility of international multilateralism.

“So we have to turn to our own self, and I think that's what motivated the establishment of the Pacific Resilience Facility, which will be a Pacific-developed, Pacific-managed, and Pacific-led initiative to address the many challenges that we have with the international financial architecture at the moment.”