The Pacific Islands Forum has removed references to Taiwan from a communiqué issued on Friday after the region’s annual leaders meeting, after complaints by China’s envoy.

The bloc of 18 nations includes three members with diplomatic ties to Taiwan, and 15 members who recognise China, a major infrastructure lender to Pacific Islands countries where Beijing is seeking to increase its security presence.

A communiqué released at the end of the forum and posted on its website included a section headed “Relations with Taiwan/Republic of China”, stating “Leaders reaffirmed the 1992 Leaders decision on relations with Taiwan/Republic of China”.

However, the document was removed from the website on Friday evening after an angry response from China, and a new document was posted on Saturday morning with the references to Taiwan removed.

The forum’s secretariat did not respond to a Reuters request for comment, and there was no immediate comment from Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry.

A development partner to the forum since 1993, Taiwan sent Tien Chung-kwang, its deputy foreign minister to Tonga, to meet its three Pacific allies, Palau, Tuvalu and Marshall Islands.

China’s special envoy to the Pacific Islands, Qian Bo, reacted angrily on Friday and told reporters in Tonga the reference to Taiwan in the communiqué “must be a mistake”, the ABC and Nikkei reported.

Qian had lobbied during the week for Taiwan to be excluded from the forum’s official functions, the Chinese embassy’s website showed.

“Any attempt by the Taiwan authorities to brush up their sense of presence by rubbing shoulders with the forum can only be self-deceptive,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular press briefing in Beijing.

Taiwan’s diplomatic allies in the Pacific have reduced in recent years as China has increased offers of development funding. Nauru switched ties from Taiwan to Beijing in January, while Kiribati and Solomon Islands, which both now host Chinese police, switched in 2019.

Reuters