China push to ban Taiwan from Pacific Islands Forum 'regrettable': MOFA

Taipei, Aug. 27 (CNA) A rumored push by China and the Solomon Islands to exclude Taiwan from the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is "regrettable," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Tuesday.

The MOFA statement was released following a Monday report in the Australian newspaper, which claimed the Solomon Islands would table a motion at this year's forum in Tonga to strip Taiwan of its "development partner" status.

According to an anonymous source cited by the Australian, the Solomon Islands had received explicit instructions from Beijing to prevent Taiwan's attendance at the 2025 summit of PIF countries in the Solomon Islands' capital Honiara.

Asked to comment, MOFA said in a statement Tuesday that Taiwan has made contributions to the PIF partners via financial aid and scholarship programs since participating in the organization over 20 years ago.

Taiwan's participation in the PIF has always been conducted under the principles of "diversity and inclusion," MOFA added.

The ministry said it was "regrettable" that "a certain country, based on selfishness" has been trying to create disunity in the Pacific.

MOFA, however, thanked Taiwan's remaining diplomatic allies and like-minded nonmember countries participating in the PIF's activities for their continuous support.

Taiwan has held "development partner" status in the PIF and participated in the group's annual summit since 1993.

Nonmembers China, the United States, Japan, Canada and the European Union also participate in the annual forum and other PIF events as "dialogue partners."

Since abandoning its long-held diplomatic recognition of Taipei in 2019, the Solomon Islands has become a staunch regional ally of China, receiving significant development aid and striking a secretive bilateral security pact in 2022.

A MOFA source told CNA that even if the Solomon Islands were to table a motion challenging Taiwan's participation in the PIF, it is unlikely to pass given that decisions by the forum are made by verbal consensus rather than vote.

Currently, three members of PIF -- Palau, the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu -- maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan.