MOFA denounces Somalia for no longer accepting Taiwan passport

Taipei, April 30 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has protested Somalia's move to no longer accept visitors or transit passengers with Taiwanese passports starting Wednesday.

Citing a 1971 United Nations resolution that in effect expelled the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan) from the international body, the Somali Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) announced on April 22 that it would no longer accept passports issued by the Taiwan authorities starting April 30, according to MOFA.

Somalia's government said it was making the decision to honor the "one-China principle" upheld by Beijing that sees Taiwan as part of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

The SCAA said it has notified all airline operators to not accept passports issued by the Taiwan authorities and other travel documents, whether for arrival in or transit through Somalia.

MOFA responded in a statement late Tuesday that it was lodging a stern protest with Somalia for restricting the travel freedom and safety of Taiwanese nationals and that it believed the PRC was behind the Somalian government's latest decision.

MOFA also condemned the African country for misinterpreting U.N. Resolution 2758 by creating the illusion that Taiwan belonged to the PRC, its statement said.

Resolution 2758 was adopted by the 26th U.N. General Assembly in 1971 to address the issue of China's representation at the international body.

It resulted in the ROC losing its seat at the U.N. to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from participating in the international organization and its affiliates, as it is not recognized by the U.N. and a majority of its member states as a country.

MOFA did not say in its statement if it believed the latest decision had something to do with Taiwan's warming relations with Somaliland.

Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 and has functioned as a sovereign state ever since, but is not officially recognized by any other country.

Ties between Taiwan and Somaliland have warmed since the two sides set up representative offices in each other's capitals in 2020.

It was unclear if Somalia's move would have any effect on Taiwanese diplomats stationed in Somaliland.

Meanwhile, in its statement Tuesday, which MOFA said was issued a full week after Somalia's announcement because getting clarification took time due to the lack of bilateral communications, MOFA called on Taiwanese to avoid traveling to Somalia and Somaliland for the time being.

It said any travel to the region should wait until Taiwan and Somaliland jointly resolved the issue, given the fact that Somalia controls the airspace over Somaliland.

Taiwan and Somaliland are asking Somalia to immediate revoke the decision on not accepting Taiwan passport and will ask international organizations and like-minded countries to push for the revocation, it said.

The Somali announcement is not expected to have much of an impact on outbound travel from Taiwan. Taiwan government data shows that Taiwanese only made 16 visits to Somalia from 2016 to February 2025.