TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's diplomatic ties with Nauru, its South Pacific ally, hit a deadlock on Monday (Jan. 15), as Nauru severed its relations with Taiwan.
The move lowered the number of Taiwan's diplomatic partners to a new low of 12.
Taiwan and Nauru first established diplomatic relationships on May 4, 1980. After a pause in links between 2002 and 2005 — when Nauru switched allegiance to Beijing — the ties were revived thanks to the efforts of the then-Taiwanese Foreign Minister Mark Chen and Nauruan President Ludwig Scotty.
Current Nauruan president David Adeang, who took office in October 2023, received formal congratulations from the Taiwanese ambassador stationed in Nauru.
At that time, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said that Taiwan and Nauru had collaborated in areas ranging from infrastructure construction, public health, clean energy, and education to climate change, information technology, agriculture and fishing, and naval patrol.
Taiwan's remaining diplomatic allies now consist of the Marshall Islands, Palau, and Tuvalu in the Asia-Pacific region; Eswatini in Africa; the Holy See in Europe; and Belize, Guatemala, Haiti, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent in Latin America and the Caribbean.
