Taiwan says Somalia blocks entry to island's passport holders
TAIPEI: Somalia began blocking entry to Taiwan passport holders on Wednesday (Apr 30), the island said, alleging China had pressured the East African country to curb travel by Taiwanese people to the region.
The move comes as Taiwan, a self-ruled island claimed by China, forges closer ties with the breakaway African region Somaliland, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991.
Taiwan and Somaliland swapped de facto embassies in 2020 and have found common ground as thriving democracies that remain mostly unrecognised by the wider world.
Somalia's civil aviation authority had told airlines that Taiwanese passports "will no longer be valid for entry into or transit through the Federal Republic of Somalia" from Apr 30, Taiwan's foreign ministry said in a statement late on Tuesday.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has strongly protested Somalia's action made under the instigation of China to restrict the travel freedom and safety of Taiwanese nationals and has demanded that the Somali government immediately revoke the notice," it said.
The ministry said it also "firmly rejected and strongly condemned Somali government's misinterpretation of (UN) Resolution 2758 and its attempt to link it to the so-called 'one China principle' to create the false impression that Taiwan is part of the People's Republic of China".
Beijing welcomed the ban, saying on Wednesday that China "highly appreciates" it.
The move was a "legitimate measure" that "reflects Somalia's firm adherence to the one-China principle", Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a regular press conference, while pledging Beijing's support for Mogadishu's claim to Somaliland.
Taiwan, under its official name the Republic of China, lost its United Nations seat to China in 1971, a year before it was evicted from the World Health Organization.
China insists Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring the democratic island under its control.
Beijing has sought to erase Taipei from the international stage by systematically poaching its diplomatic allies and blocking it from global forums.
Only 11 countries and the Vatican recognise Taiwan's claim to statehood, though many countries, including the US, maintain close unofficial ties with Taipei.
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