South Africa has asked Taiwan to move its unofficial embassy from the administrative capital, Pretoria, South Africa’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday.
China claims the autonomous island of Taiwan as part of its territory. Only 12 countries officially recognize the Taiwanese government, but many maintain unofficial diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
What did the South African Department of Foreign Affairs say about this move?
South Africa’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said it has given Taiwan a “reasonable” period of six months to relocate its unofficial embassy, known as the Taipei Liaison Office.
The ministry announced that the mission would be renamed Taipei Trade Bureau and relocated to Johannesburg, South Africa’s commercial capital.
“The relocation of the offices, which will be renamed as Trade Offices in Taipei and Johannesburg, will truly reflect the non-political and non-diplomatic nature of the relationship between South Africa and Taiwan,” the ministry said. said.
The ministry said the decision was communicated to the Chinese government last month.
South Africa severed formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1997, but maintains informal relations.
China is South Africa’s largest trading partner. The two countries are developing members of the BRICS bloc, and their annual summit is scheduled to be held next week in the Russian city of Kazan.
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How did Taipei and Beijing react to this change?
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would consider measures to “protect” the autonomous island’s sovereignty.
“If the South African government still insists on submitting to China and changing the status quo…the Ministry of Foreign Affairs…will study and formulate all possible responses to protect our country’s sovereignty and dignity,” Taipei said. Said.
Meanwhile, the Chinese government welcomed the move.
“We appreciate South Africa’s correct decision to move its Taipei liaison office from the administrative capital, Pretoria,” said Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The move comes amid rising tensions between Beijing and Taipei. Taiwan announced on Tuesday that it had discovered 153 Chinese military aircraft as the Chinese government conducted military exercises around the island.
sdi/wd (AP, Reuters)
