Taiwan’s remaining Pacific allies pledge support

Taiwan’s remaining Pacific Island allies have pledged support in the wake of Nauru cutting ties on Monday days after a presidential election, a move that whittled Taiwan’s diplomatic footprint in the region to three countries.
Two of those allies, Marshall Islands and Palau, have long-standing defence and funding compacts with the United States, while a third, Tuvalu, entered a security and migration agreement with Australia in November.
With Nauru’s switch, Taiwan’s allies in the region have halved from six to three since 2019, amid increased U.S.-China rivalry for security ties and offers of infrastructure and funding.
The remaining 15 countries in the Pacific Island Forum regional bloc have diplomatic ties with China.
China claims Taiwan as its own territory with no right to state-to-state ties, a position Taiwan strongly disputes. Worldwide, a dozen countries maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taipei.
In a statement on Thursday, Marshall Islands said its ties with Taiwan were “rock solid”, and in the region’s best interest.