Taiwan to close representative office in Papua New Guinea, blames China

Taiwan says it will close its representative office in Papua New Guinea and end further spot purchases of the country’s liquefied natural gas, citing what it describes as Chinese pressure on Port Moresby. The dispute highlights competition between China and Taiwan for diplomatic influence in the Pacific, where Taiwan has few formal partners.

Papua New Guinea, which has diplomatic relations with China, had asked Taiwan’s staff to leave its office in the capital by a deadline and sought its closure; Taiwan had rejected an earlier closure decision and the office stayed open temporarily. Taiwan says its LNG purchases made up one-third of Papua New Guinea’s exports, while last year it sourced about 8 per cent of its natural gas from there. Taipei will also end technical assistance, medical missions and scholarship and talent programmes; only 12 countries have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan.