- Carpenter bomb stuns Guardians as Tigers level series
- Harris, Trump and Biden mark Oct. 7 attacks as US election looms
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street falls
- US judge orders Google to open Android to rival app stores
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights 'sacred' multi-front war
- Nobel scientist uncovered tiny genetic switches with big potential
- Grammy-winning Cissy Houston, mother of Whitney, dies at 91
- UN biodiversity summit in Colombia aims to turn words into action
- Georgia Supreme Court reinstates six-week abortion ban
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights multi-front war
- Mexican mayor murdered days after taking office
- Intensifying to Category 5, Hurricane Milton targets Florida
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Biden, Harris mark Oct. 7 with call for Mideast peace
- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Man City and Premier League both claim victory in legal case
- Deschamps delight as 'light back on' for Pogba after doping ban
- Biden, Harris urge Mideast peace on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Neeskens, tough midfielder in Cruyff's Ajax and Dutch teams
- UN warns world's water cycle becoming ever more erratic
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- Ex-Dutch football star Johan Neeskens dies
- Man Utd battling to improve fortunes, says Evans
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Masood, Abdullah centuries lift Pakistan to 328-4 in first England Test
- Hurricane Milton strengthens fast, threatens Mexico, Florida
- Tunisia's President Saied set for landslide election win
- Barca hoping to return to Camp Nou 'by end of year'
- Trump to open second golf course at Scotland resort in summer 2025
- Super-sub Jhon Duran rewarded with new Aston Villa deal
- US duo win Nobel for gene regulation breakthrough
- Masood hits first ton for four years to power Pakistan to 233-1
- Fritz wins delayed match to reach Shanghai Masters third round
- Naomi Osaka pulls out of Japan Open with back injury
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Artist Marina Abramovic hopes first China show offers tech respite
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- Pakistan 122-1 at lunch in first England Test
- Kazakhs approve plan for first nuclear power plant
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- 'Second family': tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches
- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
- Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
RBGPF | -1.97% | 58.94 | $ | |
JRI | -0.76% | 13.18 | $ | |
BCC | 1.68% | 141.27 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.45% | 6.88 | $ | |
NGG | -1.56% | 65.48 | $ | |
SCS | -0.15% | 12.95 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.53% | 24.57 | $ | |
RELX | -0.54% | 46.04 | $ | |
RIO | -0.11% | 69.62 | $ | |
GSK | -0.49% | 38.63 | $ | |
BCE | -0.54% | 33.53 | $ | |
BTI | -0.26% | 35.2 | $ | |
AZN | -0.78% | 76.87 | $ | |
VOD | 0.31% | 9.69 | $ | |
BP | 0.78% | 33.14 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.09% | 24.79 | $ |
Taiwan slams China 'intervention' after Pacific bloc alters statement
The Taiwanese foreign ministry on Saturday accused China of an "arbitrary intervention" after a joint declaration by Pacific leaders was altered to remove mentions of Taiwan.
"Taiwan issued the strongest condemnation on China's arbitrary intervention and unreasonable actions that undermine regional peace and stability," the foreign ministry told AFP in a statement.
Self-ruled Taiwan -- which Beijing claims as its own territory -- also called on "all like-minded countries to closely monitor China's actions" to safeguard "the harmony and stable development of Pacific island countries".
The rebuff came after a statement by Pacific leaders was reissued with mentions of Taiwan removed after China had slammed an earlier version as a "mistake" that "must be corrected".
After five days of talks in Tonga, a "cleared" communique was released Friday that reaffirmed a 30-year-old agreement allowing Taiwan to take part in the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).
But the wording immediately raised the ire of Chinese diplomats, who piled pressure on Pacific leaders to amend the document.
The forum reissued the communique without explanation Saturday morning, conspicuously deleting the paragraph concerning the regional bloc's "relations with Taiwan".
Neither PIF nor Chinese officials replied to requests for comment on Saturday.
China's special envoy to the Pacific islands, Qian Bo, had told reporters on Friday that the mention of Taiwan was "a surprising mistake made by someone", before insisting "it must be corrected".
Qian earlier said he had contacted the bloc's secretariat in the hope of clarifying the situation.
The original paragraph -- titled "Relations with Taiwan/Republic of China" -- said leaders had "reaffirmed" the 1992 decision that paved the way for Taiwan's participation in the forum.
Beijing has aggressively sought to exclude Taiwan, a self-governing island of more than 23 million people, from international bodies and rejects its autonomy.
- The 'Pacific Way' -
The South Pacific was once seen as a bastion of support for Taiwan's claim to statehood, but China has methodically whittled this down.
In the past five years, Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Nauru have all been persuaded to switch diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.
Beijing insists its diplomatic allies withdraw recognition of the self-ruled island.
Palau, Marshall Islands and Tuvalu maintain diplomatic relations with Taipei but face constant pressure to change.
Taiwan's foreign ministry said it had contacted its three Pacific allies "to actively communicate with the PIF Secretariat" in a bid to retain the clause.
"But the final decision by member states was to use the spirit of diversity and inclusion of the 'Pacific Way' as a compromise of the opinions of all parties, and publish a joint communique with consensus," a Taiwanese spokesperson added.
"This communique did not undermine our country's status in the Pacific Islands Forum or exclude our rights to participate in the PIF in the future.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked our allies and like-minded countries for their support for our continued participation in PIF."
Solomon Islands, China's main partner in the South Pacific, has lobbied for Taiwan to be stripped of its "development partner" status with the PIF.
US territories Guam and American Samoa were elevated to associate members of the forum, against the wishes of Solomon Islands.
New Zealand's foreign ministry confirmed to AFP that there had not been a consensus on the paragraph about Taiwan.
"There are a range of views among the 18 Pacific Islands Forum members and part of the 'Pacific Way' is respect for different views and the importance of consensus," a spokesperson said in a statement.
J.Williams--AMWN