US Officials Criticize China After Nauru’s Decision to End Diplomatic Ties With Taiwan

State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller speaks during a press briefing at the Department of State in Washington on July 24, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

U.S. officials have expressed concerns over Nauru’s decision to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favor of China, just days after Taiwanese voters elected a new president and legislature.

“While the Government of Nauru’s action on January 15 to sever its diplomatic relationship with Taiwan is a sovereign decision, it is nonetheless a disappointing one,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement on Jan. 15.

“Taiwan is a reliable, like-minded, and democratic partner. The PRC often makes promises in exchange for diplomatic relations that ultimately remain unfulfilled,” Mr. Miller added, referring to China’s official name, the People’s Republic of China.

“We encourage all countries to expand engagement with Taiwan and to continue to support democracy, good governance, transparency, and adherence to the rule of law.”

The timing of Nauru’s decision directly after Taiwan’s elections is widely considered to be carefully calculated, with “Beijing’s fingerprints all over” the diplomatic switch, according to Euan Graham, senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

Citing unnamed sources, Taiwan’s government-run Central News Agency reported on Monday that the Chinese regime had made unknown financial promises to Nauru after Taiwan failed to meet the former ally’s demand of about $80 million in aid.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been criticizing nations for congratulating Taiwan’s new president, Lai Ching-te of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The communist regime dislikes the DPP and sees the party’s agenda as roadblocks to its territorial ambition of seizing the self-ruled island.

The DDP has been in power since 2016, when President Tsai Inig-wen won the first of her two consecutive four-year terms in office. During the eight years, Taiwan has lost 10 diplomatic allies, including Panama, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, the Solomon Islands, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Nauru.

Now, Taiwan has 12 remaining diplomatic allies, including Eswatini, Haiti, Paraguay, and the Vatican.

“The United States will continue to deepen and expand our engagement with Taiwan on our many shared interests and values, support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the international community, and deepen our economic ties, consistent with our longstanding one China policy,” Mr. Miller said.

The United States has long held a “One China“ policy, which asserts that there is only one sovereign state with the name “People’s Republic of China,” but it is different from the “One China” principle under which the Chinese regime asserts sovereignty over Taiwan. Although Washington does not have formal diplomatic relations with Tapei, the United States is bound by legal agreements to provide the island nation with the weapons it needs to defend itself, including against China.

‘Distorted Narratives’

Laura Rosenberger, chairwoman of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT)—the de facto U.S. Embassy in Taipei—arrived in Taiwan on Jan. 14 with a U.S. delegation. On Monday, she met with Ms. Tsai, Mr. Lai, and several other political leaders in Taiwan.

Ms. Rosenberger held a press conference in Taiwan on Jan. 16, in which she said Nauru’s change of diplomatic allegiance was “disappointing.” She also commented on Nauru’s official statement announcing the diplomatic switch, dismissing the nation’s rationale for using U.N. Resolution 2758 as a basis for ending diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

“Resolution 2758 did not make a determination on the status of Taiwan; does not preclude countries from having diplomatic relationships with Taiwan; and does not preclude Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the U.N. system,” Ms. Rosenberger said.

“It is disappointing to see distorted narratives about U.N. resolution 2758 being used as a tool to pressure Taiwan, limit its voice on the international stage, and influence its diplomatic relationships,” she added.

In 2022, the German Marshall Fund of the United States published a report detailing how China had been distorting the meaning and context of Resolution 2758—which was passed in 1971—to assert sovereignty over Taiwan. “The PRC has since worked to ‘internationalize’ its ‘One China’ Principle and to conflate it with UN Resolution 2758, a revisionist shift from the original intent of the document,” the report says.

“We enjoy a strong unofficial relationship with Taiwan, a vibrant democracy, and a leading economy in the region. We‘ll continue to expand our cooperation with Taiwan on our many shared interests and values, support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the international community, and deepen our economic ties consistent with our ’One China' policy,” Ms. Rosenberger said.

Taiwan’s exclusion from the World Health Organization is a prominent example of Beijing limiting the island’s international presence.

Two House lawmakers took to X, formerly Twitter, on Monday to criticize the Chinese regime over Nauru’s decision.

“The murderous Communist regime in #Beijing has just bullied the small Pacific island nation of #Nauru into severing ties with the freedom-loving people of #Taiwan,” wrote Rep. Carlos Giménez (R-Fla.), who sits on the House Select Committee on the CCP.

“This pathetic coercion will not go unnoticed in the United States Congress!” Mr. Gimenez added. “We Stand with Taiwan!”

“Nauru severing formal ties with Taipei is a blatant example of Beijing’s coercive tactics,” wrote Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-Fla.), co-chairman of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus. “Despite China’s intimidation, Taiwan’s commitment to free and democratic elections demonstrates they will not be intimidated by China’s threats and bullying.”