Pacific Islands Forum host Palau opens after Beijing brands the island unsafe for tourists
Pacific island leaders meet from Monday in Palau at the 18-member Pacific Islands Forum, a host that keeps diplomatic ties with Taiwan rather than China. President Surangel Whipps said China declared the tourism-dependent island unsafe for travellers after Taiwan's foreign minister arrived with electric buses from Taipei. Taiwan's foreign ministry has asked lawmakers for about 31.6 million dollars to build an industrial park in Eswatini, its only remaining African diplomatic ally.
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Pacific Islands Forum host Palau opens under a Chinese travel warning
Pacific island leaders meet from Monday in Palau at the 18-member Pacific Islands Forum, whose host is one of three members that keep diplomatic ties with Taiwan rather than China. President Surangel Whipps told reporters that China declared the tourism-dependent island unsafe for travellers after Taiwan's foreign minister, Lin Chia-lung, arrived, and the US embassy accused Beijing of trying to weaponise tourism to coerce Palau. 14 island leaders are expected after Kiribati said its leader could not attend and Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale returned home on Sunday to face a no-confidence motion.[1]
Lin Chia-lung hands over Taipei's electric buses with President Whipps
Taiwan's foreign minister, Lin Chia-lung, cut the ribbon with President Whipps on Sunday in Palau at a ceremony handing over a fleet of electric buses donated by Taipei. About 110 police officers drawn from across the Pacific will provide security, the first large-scale demonstration of region-wide policing cooperation, and leaders will discuss a regional maritime response to drug trafficking, with Australia and Fiji expected to be the main contributors. Whipps said tensions between the region's partners should not crowd out renewable energy, drug crime, food security and climate change, and that the forum has still not issued a joint statement on China's ballistic missile test into the region last month; Kiribati and Nauru held out.[1]
Taipei asks lawmakers for 31.6 million dollars toward an Eswatini industrial park
Taiwan's foreign ministry has asked lawmakers to fund a Taiwan Industrial Innovation Park at Phocweni in Eswatini, its only remaining diplomatic ally in Africa, at a cost of about 31.6 million dollars. The site covers roughly 158 hectares next to the Royal Science and Technology Park, and the money sits in the ministry's budget proposal for the 2027 fiscal year, which lawmakers have not yet approved. Since the park was launched in April, about 60 Taiwanese companies have looked at the site and 10 have signed letters of intent, in textiles, packaging, pharmaceuticals and solar power. President Lai Ching-te visited the planned location during a state visit in May and called Eswatini a steadfast ally of Taiwan in Africa and an important gateway for Taiwanese enterprises seeking to enter the African market. The proposal says the park is meant to create local jobs and foster industrial clustering and hub development.[2]
