Reuters
[Source: Reuters]
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele has said that 21 donor countries, including the United States and China, will not be invited to the region’s top political meeting, a move that follows pressure from Beijing to exclude Taiwan.
China’s biggest security ally in the Pacific Islands, the Solomon Islands is hosting the annual meeting of the 18-member bloc’s forum in September.
Three island states have diplomatic ties with Taiwan and not China, and they had expressed concern Taiwanese officials would be blocked from entering the country.
Solomon Islands switched ties from Taiwan to China in 2019, and removed Taiwan from a list of countries eligible for concessional entry in April.
Beijing, which has deepened its ties in the Pacific, claims Taiwan as its own territory.
Manele told the Solomon Islands parliament on Wednesday his cabinet had decided no dialogue partners would be invited to this year’s event, because a review of each country’s relationship with the Pacific had not been completed.
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