Taiwan withdraws from ocean conference after Kenya detains delegates

Taipei, June 16 (CNA) Taiwan's government on Tuesday said it was withdrawing from the 11th Our Ocean Conference (OOC) in Mombasa after two delegation members were denied entry to a fringe event and detained by Kenyan immigration authorities due to Chinese pressure.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the Ocean Affairs Council (OAC), organizers of the pre-conference event refused to grant accreditation to delegates because they did not recognize Taiwan's passport.

Later, two delegation members were forcibly detained by Kenyan immigration authorities for 20 hours, during which their passports and cellphones were confiscated, the OAC said in a statement.

Following their release, the Taiwanese delegates promptly boarded a flight out of the country and returned to Taiwan, it added.

After learning of the incident, other members of the Taiwanese delegation who had yet to arrive in Kenya for the June 16-18 conference, including OAC members, decided not to attend this year's OOC, the OAC said.

In a separate statement, MOFA said that the decision to withdraw was made because of the "extremely unfriendly gestures" directed at the Taiwanese delegation by the Kenyan government, and to protect the personal safety of Taiwanese delegates.

Both MOFA and the OAC alleged that Kenya acted under political pressure from the People's Republic of China (PRC), without elaborating.

According to MOFA, Taiwan has sent delegations to the OOC since 2015 and has never encountered similar obstacles.

Previous host countries have included the United States, South Korea, Panama, Palau, Greece, Indonesia and Chile.

Taiwan "will neither fear nor succumb to China's arbitrary and domineering actions and will continue to work hand in hand with the international community to promote global cooperation on maritime affairs," MOFA said.

Meanwhile, the OAC called on OOC organizers to provide an explanation for the treatment endured by Taiwanese delegates in Kenya and to ensure Taiwan's future participation in similar international events.

The OOC was launched in 2014 by the U.S. government and brings together scientists, NGOs, and businesses to commit to ocean conservation, sustainability, and climate action.

Taiwan's delegation was made up of representatives from academia, the OAC, MOFA, and the TaiwanICDF foreign aid agency.