Exclusive: Prime minister Feletei Teo says Tuvalu may withdraw from crucial meeting after key countries such as Taiwan were barred from attending
Tuvalu’s prime minister Feletei Teo said his country may pull out of the region’s top political meeting next month, after host nation Solomon Islands moved to block all external partners – including China, US and Taiwan – from attending.
The Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting will be held in Honiara in September. On 7 August, Solomon Islands prime minister Jeremiah Manele told parliament that no dialogue partners would be invited to the annual gathering.
Countries outside the Pacific, known as “dialogue partners,” have attended the forum since 1989, to work with Pacific leaders and contribute to discussions around development and regional security. While not an official partner, Taiwan has attended the meetings as a “development partner” for more than three decades.
The decision by Honiara, a close ally of Beijing, has fuelled speculation the move was aimed at keeping Taiwan out of the meeting. It has raised questions over China’s growing sway in Pacific diplomacy and whether regional unity can hold.
