TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan expressed strong regret and denounced the Republic of Nauru's decision as misguided and not conducive to the benefit of its people or regional stability on Monday (Jan. 15), after it severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan to establish ties with China earlier that day.
Taiwan's Presidential Office emphasized that Beijing's diplomatic suppression comes when the island nation has just completed its elections, which is considered as an act of retaliation against democratic values and a blatant challenge to international stability.
With Nauru's decision, Taiwan lost its tenth diplomatic ally since Tsai Ing-wen's ascension to the presidency in 2016, reducing its total number of diplomatic allies to twelve.
Meanwhile, sources revealed that financial shortfalls following the closure of Australia's Nauru Regional Processing Center (RPC), roughly equivalent to NT＄2.6 billion and representing more than half of Nauru's annual budget, have served as the "last straw" for Taiwan-Nauru relations.
Those sources also indicated that other contributory factors included Nauru's request for economic aid from Taiwan, funds required for construction work on an athletic field for the 2026 Micronesian Games, and the closure of the Nauru branch of the Australian Bendigo Bank.