China’s missile test in the Pacific did not comply with international law and was conducted with “insufficient notice” to nearby countries, official in the US and Australia have said, amid growing international condemnation. But a Chinese government spokesperson claimed the test was “safe” and part of “routine” military training, telling critics to “not over-interpret it.” China’s state news agency Xinhua reported the test involved “strategic missile carrying a dummy warhead” launched from a “strategic nuclear submarine of the navy”. China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, according to a translated version…
Tag: Nauru
Taiwan Loses Ally Nauru After Electing President Beijing Loathes
Just two days after Taiwan elected as its next leader Lai Ching-te, whom Beijing sees as a staunch separatist, it lost a diplomatic ally in its rivalry with China. Nauru, a tiny freckle of land in the Pacific Ocean, announced that it would be severing diplomatic relations with Taiwan, effective immediately. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it welcomed the decision by Nauru and is ready to establish relations with it. Taiwan’s foreign ministry indicated that it had no doubt that Beijing had orchestrated the Pacific island’s shift, stating…
Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favour of China
Nauru has switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China less than 48 hours after Taiwan’s presidential election. In a statement, the government of the tiny island country in Micronesia, north-east of Australia, said it had decided to recognise the People’s Republic of China and was seeking the resumption of full diplomatic relations “in the best interests of the Republic and people of Nauru”. The decision leaves Taiwan with just 12 formal diplomatic allies. A spokesperson for China’s ministry of foreign affairs said it “welcomed” the decision and that it would…