Taiwan Returns to Pacific Islands Forum Events After Being Shut Out in 2025

Taiwan is returning to Pacific Islands Forum-related events after being excluded from last year’s gathering in the Solomon Islands.Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung is scheduled to travel to Palau on Aug. 27.Lin will attend the 30th Taiwan/Republic of China–Forum Countries Dialogue, hosted by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, and other events related to the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting, Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said on Aug. 26.He will also attend Palau’s Pacific Prosperity Exhibit.Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Baron Waqa confirmed Taiwan’s participation earlier this month.“Taiwan is a very important development partner,” Waqa told a news conference on Aug. 7. “It is not a dialogue partner. However, it engages with members of our forum family.”Taiwan is not one of the forum’s 18 members. Its participation rests on a development partner arrangement tied to a 1992 decision by Pacific leaders.Return After Solomon Islands MeetingIn 2025, Solomon Islands hosted the forum and excluded outside partners, including Taiwan, the United States, China, and others.Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele said the partnership review had not been completed.Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. called the exclusion a “missed opportunity.” Australia said it supported participation by all development and dialogue partners.Whipps said Palau would welcome outside partners, including Taiwan, when it hosts in 2026.At the close of the 2025 meeting, forum leaders maintained the 1992 leaders’ decision on development partners.The partnership policy approved that year states that it does not apply to development partners covered by the 1992 decision.Leaders of Pacific Islands nations pose for a photo at the Pacific Islands Forum summit in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, on Sept. 11, 2025. Ben Strang/AFP via Getty ImagesBeijing Challenged Taiwan’s RoleAt the 2024 leaders meeting in Tonga, an initial communiqué reaffirmed the 1992 arrangement with Taiwan/Republic of China.China’s special envoy to the Pacific, Qian Bo, publicly objected and said the language “must be corrected.”The communiqué was later republished without the Taiwan paragraph.The forum secretariat said the revised text did not alter existing leaders’ decisions.Beijing has objected again ahead of this year’s meeting.In an Aug. 11 statement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun urged the PIF Secretariat to follow Beijing’s “one-China principle” in handling Taiwan’s participation.Beijing claims Taiwan as part of China. Taiwan is self-governed, and the Chinese Communist Party has never ruled the island. Taiwan rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.Palau, the Marshall Islands, and Tuvalu—the three PIF members that maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan—are among Taiwan’s 12 remaining diplomatic allies.Lin to Meet Palau LeadersLin is scheduled to meet Whipps and Vice President Raynold Oilouch and visit Belau National Hospital to review joint projects, according to Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry.His delegation includes representatives from Taiwanese business associations and the energy, technology, food, construction, and organic agriculture sectors.Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said the trip aims to expand economic, technological, and investment cooperation, including in digital resilience, renewable energy, infrastructure, climate adaptation, and healthcare.Lin is also expected to meet representatives of Taiwan’s Pacific diplomatic allies and other countries on the sidelines.He is scheduled to remain in Palau through Sept. 3. The Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting begins on Aug. 30 and concludes on Sept. 4.