Tuvalu Rejects China's Offer to Build Islands, Retains Ties with Taiwan

This aerial view of Tuvalu’s capital, Funafuti, taken in 2011, shows the largest of the six low-lying atolls, which is endangered by global warming. (Flickr)

The tiny South Pacific nation of Tuvalu had rejected offers from Chinese companies to build artificial islands to help it cope with rising sea levels, its foreign minister said on November 21. 

Tuvalu is a group of nine tiny islands in the South Pacific that won independence from the United Kingdom in 1978. Tuvalu's islands are low-lying, with no point higher than 4.5 meters above sea level. In 1989, the United Nations listed Tuvalu as one of a number of island groups most likely to disappear beneath the sea in the 21st century because of global warming. Local politicians have campaigned against climate change, arguing that it could see the islands swamped by rising sea levels.

According to Taiwan Wire, Tuvalu’s foreign minister, Simon Kofe, was in Taiwan on a “six-day fact-finding visit for [Tuvalu’s] agricultural, cultural and creative, and food processing industries.” During an interview with Reuters in Taipei, the minister said Chinese companies had approached local communities offering to help with a $400-million government plan to build artificial islands. He believed that the companies had the backing of the Chinese government, which has attempted to reduce Taiwan's influence in the region. 

"We are hearing a lot of information about debt," he said. "China buying our islands and looking at setting up military bases in our part of the world. Those are things that are concerning to us."

While explicitly expressing Tuvalu’s backing of Taiwan, he also recognized “the pressure that is mounting on Pacific Island countries from mainland China.” Tuvalu just elected a new parliament and formed a new government this past September. The current administration considers finding its place on the China-Taiwan issue to be one of its main tasks. 

President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan said in her welcome address on November 20 that she “looks forward to building on Taiwan and Tuvalu's 40 years of friendship, pledging to deepen exchanges with the Pacific ally across the board as part of the government's efforts advancing sustainable development in the region.” Budget documents have shown a $7.06 million contribution from Taiwan to Tuvalu in 2019. Both countries expect to continue their partnership for mutual benefit, with an emphasis on raising Pacific Island countries’ profile internationally.

The Pacific Islands have historically provided strong diplomatic support for Taiwan. Formal ties with six island nations account for more than one-third of Taiwan’s alliances in total. However, with the Solomon Islands and Kiribati having already ended relations with Taiwan in favor of recognizing Beijing, Taiwan may struggle to maintain diplomatic influence and recognition.