MOFA plays down allies' attendance at Beijing forum

Taipei, May 14 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has played down the attendance of two of Taiwan's formal diplomatic allies at an international forum in Beijing, which sparked fears of a possible rupture in relations.

MOFA told CNA in a statement Tuesday that it was aware the two allied countries were sending representatives to the forum because "the governments of our allies informed us of the situation through Taiwan's embassies in advance."

MOFA also said that the Forum of China and Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) is part of CELAC's routine meetings worldwide, and the two officials attended the forum in capacities that did not represent their respective governments.

Taiwan's diplomatic relations with both allies remained strong and stable, MOFA affirmed.

According to Reuters early Tuesday, its reporters at the Forum of China and CELAC saw the national flags of Haiti and Saint Lucia in the main hall at the venue in the Chinese capital.

Haiti was represented by Foreign Minister Jean-Victor Harvel Jean-Baptiste and Saint Lucia by diplomat Peter Lansiquot, though the MOFA statement said Jean-Baptiste attended as Haiti's CELAC representative while Lansiquot was representing his political party.

The two Caribbean countries are among 12 states worldwide that recognize Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), instead of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

Their presence raised concerns about the future of formal ties, especially given that other members of CELAC with diplomatic relations with the ROC -- Guatemala, Paraguay, Belize, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines -- did not attend the Beijing event.

The timing was also sensitive, coming just over a week before the first anniversary of President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) inauguration as president on May 20, as the PRC often uses dates near important occasions in Taiwan politics to snatch away Taiwan's allies.

Records show that Haiti (in 2015) and St. Lucia (in 2018) have attended at least one of the three CELAC forums in China held in the past, however, indicating that the presence of allies at the forum is not completely abnormal.

Taiwan lost 10 diplomatic allies to PRC since May 2016 after former President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took office due to deteriorating cross-Taiwan Strait relations.

Five of them -- Panama, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras -- were Latin American countries.