After Lai Ching-te won the election for the leadership of the Taiwan region, his joy lasted only one day; the next day, Nauru, Taiwan's "diplomatic country" in the South Pacific, suddenly announced that it would "sever diplomatic relations" with Taiwan and would resume diplomatic relations with Chinese mainland. In the panic, the DPP authorities have not yet finished dealing with this matter, and another bad news came from the South Pacific, and Tuvalu, another "diplomatic country" in the region, may also turn to Chinese mainland.
In this regard, Wu Zhaoxie, head of the foreign affairs department of the DPP authorities, argued that the Taiwan authorities and Tuvalu have a "solid friendship." However, less than a week later, Australia, which is regarded as the "big brother" of the South Pacific countries, made a statement on this, and the hearts of the Taiwan authorities immediately hung in the air.
South Pacific country Tuvalu
According to the Observer Network, after the recent news that Tuvalu may follow Nauru's example and "sever diplomatic relations" with the Taiwan authorities, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said that if Tuvalu decides to "sever diplomatic relations" with the Taiwan authorities and recognize Chinese mainland, Australia will not interfere, because this is a "sovereign decision" made by Tuvalu itself.
In this regard, Taiwan media made a further explanation, saying that Tuvalu is about to hold a general election, and its "ambassador to Taiwan" Pan Enniu has released rumors that he may follow Nauru after the election and recognize Chinese mainland.
The reason why the DPP authorities will not be able to sit still is that they may believe that the South Pacific region has always been the "sphere of influence" of the United States and Australia, especially Australia, because of its geographical proximity, South Pacific countries are more dependent on Australia for security, so in diplomacy, they generally listen to Australia's opinions.
Taiwan may consider itself an ally of the United States in the Asia-Pacific region, and Australia is also a camp, and under normal circumstances, Australia will prevent Tuvalu from "severing diplomatic relations" with Taiwan.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong
However, what the DPP authorities did not expect was that after Nauru "severed diplomatic relations" with the Taiwan authorities, Australia did not express its opinion, and after Tuvalu released the news, Australia also expressed its support. In this way, if Tuvalu chooses to "sever diplomatic relations" with the Taiwan authorities, there will be no pressure, and it may really be possible to put this matter on the agenda after the country's general election.
Tsai Ing-wen has been in office for nearly eight years, and has already lost 10 "countries with diplomatic relations", and now less than four months away from leaving office, she may lose her 11th.
However, as Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, in the international community, the establishment of diplomatic relations with Chinese mainland has become the trend of the times, and adhering to the one-China principle is the general international righteousness and the aspiration of the people, and I believe that more countries will choose to stand on the right side of history and make correct decisions that are in line with the fundamental and long-term interests of their own people. In other words, the DPP authorities' practice of relying on "economic aid" to lock up "countries with diplomatic relations" is no longer attractive.
Lai Qingde was only happy for one day after his victory
Then, it is worth paying attention to the fact that the United States has been playing the "Taiwan card" when targeting Chinese mainland, and Australia, as an Asia-Pacific ally of the United States, why does it not "help" the United States, say a word for the Taiwan authorities, and put pressure on Tuvalu?
On the one hand, after Kiribati and the Solomon Islands abandoned the Taiwan authorities and chose to establish diplomatic relations with Chinese mainland, cooperation with China has greatly promoted their economic development without any political conditions. All this is seen by other Taiwan "diplomatic countries" in the same region, and for the sake of their own national interests, they are willing to establish diplomatic relations with Chinese mainland, and even if Australia comes out to block it, they will not necessarily listen.
Nauru, for example, made this decision very directly. Tuvalu released the wind in advance, which is equivalent to saying hello to Australia.
Australia is reluctant to mess up the China-Australia relationship
On the other hand, Australia's Sino-Australian relations have cooled because former Prime Minister Morrison followed the United States to implement a foreign policy against China when he was in office, but Australia is a country whose economy is highly dependent on exports, and Morrison's messing up of China-Australia relations is equivalent to messing up the Australian economy, and people and businesses are very dissatisfied.
Now that the new Australian government has managed to improve its relations with China and exports to China have begun to gradually recover, how can it once again quarrel with China and thus affect its own national interests? Therefore, even though it is also an ally of the United States, Australia does not want to speak for the Taiwan authorities on this sensitive issue. What's more, as Wong said, Tuvalu is a sovereign country, and even if such a decision is made, it is normal.