Samoa caretaker Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa has issued a strong warning that her government would find it “very difficult” to attend the upcoming Pacific Islands Forum if the long-standing practice of allowing Taiwan to participate is changed.
Mata’afa’s remarks come amid moves to exclude Taiwan from the Forum’s annual Leaders’ Meeting in Honiara this September, a decision she says risks damaging the integrity of the regional body.
“Well this issue began to raise its head at the last meeting in Tonga, and I made it quite clear that at the retreat the leaders made the decision that we would retain the practise with our dialogue partners where those countries who had deep relations with Taiwan would have the opportunity to have their dialogue, and that has been the practise of the leaders meeting ever since the issue arose,” said Mata’afa.
“When it came up in Tonga, that’s what the leaders said, there wouldn’t be any changes. We indicated if there was any change, we would be very unhappy about it. And perhaps to the extent that Samoa wouldn’t attend.”
She added, “If there’s any change to the way the Forum has run its dialogue programme with accommodations for Taiwan, I think if that is changed, in terms of a decision by the Solomon Islands, I think we would find it very difficult to attend the next meeting.”
Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine echoed those concerns in her national parliament, describing moves to exclude Taiwan as foreign interference that could damage the Forum’s legitimacy.
“Mr Speaker, I believe firmly that the Forum belongs to its members, not countries that are non-members. And non-members should not be allowed to dictate how our premier regional organiSation conducts its business,” said Heine.
She expressed concern about China’s growing influence on Forum decisions and recalled interference during the 2023 Forum in Tonga, where changes were made to the Forum Communiqué’s language.
“We witnessed at the Forum in Tonga how China, a world superpower, interfered to change the language of the Forum Communique, the communiqué of our Pacific Leaders. This is a practice my government will never tolerate,” she said.
“If the practice of interference in the affairs of the Forum becomes the norm, then I question our nation’s membership in the organisation.”
The warnings come as Pacific leaders prepare for the Forum Leaders’ Meeting in Honiara amid rising regional concerns about China’s expanding footprint in Pacific diplomacy.
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