Marshall Islands, Tuvalu voice support for Taiwan at U.N. assembly

Washington, Sept. 26 (CNA) Marshallese President Hilda C. Heine and Tuvaluan Prime Minister Feleti Teo voiced support for Taiwan on Friday during the ongoing United Nations General Assembly in New York.

"The Marshall Islands expresses its grave concern over increased efforts to spread dangerous disinformation in these halls," Heine said in remarks at the assembly.

"Taiwan and its 23 million people are an objective reality, and only its democratically elected government can represent it," Heine said.

Heine also mentioned U.N. General Assembly Resolution 2758, which recognized the People's Republic of China as the only legitimate representative of China at the United Nations.

Beijing has cited the resolution in support of its claims over Taiwan.

"In years to come, every nation in this hall may be told that aggression or coercion upon Taiwan is an internal matter, somehow justified by an ancient U.N. seating chart resolution, a resolution which doesn't even reference Taiwan," Heine said.

She warned that China could eventually seek to force all U.N. members to accept what she called its "false narrative" that Resolution 2758 provides a legal pretext for coercion or war, potentially impairing freedom of navigation in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

Warning that "appeasement never satisfies an aggressor's wider agenda," Heine urged U.N. representatives not to pursue appeasement and called on the organization to address the "security dilemma" by ensuring that "no one is left behind."

Meanwhile, Teo called on the U.N. to facilitate Taiwan's meaningful participation in the organization, its specialized agencies and mechanisms.

"Taiwan has consistently demonstrated that it is an able, trustworthy, and a constructive partner in addressing global challenges, and its exclusion undermines both the spirit and effectiveness of multilateral cooperation," Teo said.

China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory, has made sustained efforts to block Taiwan's participation in international organizations and exclude it from the international community.

Teo also said Tuvalu was "gravely concerned" by increasing military activity around Taiwan.

He said such activity threatened stability across the Taiwan Strait, disrupted international transportation and trade, and put peace and security in the Pacific and beyond at risk.