U.S. senators condemn South Africa's push to relocate Taiwan office

Washington, Feb. 4 (CNA) Two U.S. senators have criticized South Africa's renewed demand that Taiwan relocate its representative office from Pretoria, the country's capital.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz criticized the move on Tuesday, saying on X that South Africa was "going out of its way to alienate the United States and our allies."

He described the timeline for Taiwan's relocation from Pretoria as "deeply troubling," saying that it undermined U.S. national security interests and escalated tensions between Washington and Pretoria.

Cruz, who chairs the Africa subcommittee on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, pledged to investigate the matter along with other concerning decisions by South Africa.

Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn expressed similar sentiments the previous day, urging the U.S. to "stand with Taiwan and stand up to South Africa."

She accused South Africa of working with China to "bully Taiwan." She called for serious consequences, including South Africa's removal from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a trade program to foster economic ties between the U.S. and sub-Saharan Africa.

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) confirmed last week that the South African government sent a letter to the Taipei Liaison Office in late January, reiterating its demand that the office be relocated by the end of March.

According to MOFA, South Africa is also seeking to downgrade the office's status to a "trade office," reflecting intensified Chinese pressure on Taiwan.

South Africa first made an oral request for the office's relocation in December 2023, followed by a formal letter in April 2024.

A third request in October 2024 set a deadline at the end of that month, which was later withdrawn after negotiations between the two sides began.

At the time, MOFA condemned the demand as "unilateral" and attributed it to Chinese pressure.

In a statement on Oct. 18, South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) said the severing of diplomatic ties with Taiwan was "consistent with resolution 2758 of the United Nations General Assembly, which is widely adhered to by the international community."

"Relocating what will be rebranded as Trade Offices both in Taipei and in Johannesburg, which is standard diplomatic practice, will be a true reflection of the nonpolitical and nondiplomatic nature of the relationship between the Republic of South Africa and Taiwan," DIRCO said in the statement.