‘The Pacific determines what happens’: Albanese pushes back against China over Taiwan warning

Koror City, Palau: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pushed back against China’s Pacific envoy for threatening unspecified consequences and lodging complaints over Taiwan’s presence at the Pacific Islands Forum, declaring it was up to Pacific nations to run their affairs.

The Pacific Island Forum (PIF) leaders meeting began in Palau on Monday night, with an estimated six leaders skipping the summit amid suspicion Beijing was trying to undermine the gathering .

Sitting not far from Albanese, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Lin Chia-Lung attended the forum’s opening ceremony and will participate in several events over coming days in a development that has infuriated China.

Speaking after the opening ceremony, China’s special envoy for the Pacific Qian Bo said he had “serious concerns” about the level of access being granted to Taiwan, a self-governing island that China claims as an integral part of its territory.

“We have made our position very clear to the government of Palau and the secretariat,” he told reporters.

China, the United States and other countries serve as official dialogue partners of the PIF, while Taiwan attends as a development partner.

Palau is one of a handful of remaining countries in the world that still recognise Taiwan, rather than Beijing, as the legitimate government of China.

Saying he believed China had the support of most Pacific nations over the issue, Qian said that “there will always be consequences” when China is unhappy about a decision.

“I mean, you know this is objected by all, so this should not have happened. So we think it’s very inappropriate to do so.”

Asked about Qian’s comments on Tuesday, Albanese told reporters: “The Pacific Islands Forum determines what happens here, not any other country.”

Albanese, who has previously holidayed in Palau, rejected the Chinese tourism ministry’s warnings of robberies, describing the Micronesian nation as a “paradise”.

“One of the things that is obvious as you’ve been walking around here is how friendly and how peaceful this place is,” he said, while declining to say whether China was bullying Palau.

Asked about China’s warning of consequences, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said: “I think the Pacific should be able to determine its own relationships.”

In his speech opening the event, Palau’s President Surangel Whipps Jnr made clear he did not want competition between countries that are not official PIF members to derail the event.