Taiwan to close representative office in Papua New Guinea, blames China

Taiwan says it is closing its representative office in Papua New Guinea and will stop buying liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the country, blaming Chinese political pressure on the South Pacific nation. Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday that Papua New Guinea had repeated previous demands that staff leave its office in the capital, Port Moresby, within a set deadline and had pushed for ⁠its closure. These actions “reflect China’s continued use of political pressure and economic influence to interfere in other countries’ diplomatic decisions and suppress Taiwan’s international space”, it said in a statement.

China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory, had welcomed Papua New Guinea’s decision in July to shutter Taiwan’s office in Port Moresby. Taipei rejected the move, and the office remained open in the interim. The Pacific has long been an area for diplomatic competition between China and Taiwan.

Papua New Guinea has formal diplomatic relations with China, but it had allowed Taiwan to have a representative office in Port Moresby.