Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, right, and his counterpart from Somaliland, Yasin Hagi Mohamoud. Picture via Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned the Czech Republic’s senate speaker Milos Vystrcil will “pay a heavy price” for violating Beijing’s sacrosanct “One China” policy for his ongoing visit to Taiwan.
Foreign Minister Wang’s sharp tone offers a preview of the kind of response that awaits Somaliland when it proceeds on September 9th to open a representative office in Taipei.
For now, the Chinese response on the issue has been rather subdued but there are indications that may not be the case for much longer. Africa Intelligence reports that China’s top diplomat for sub-Saharan Africa, Wu Peng, has been tasked to “organize a counterattack.”
New Analyses on the Implications of Taiwan-Somaliland Ties
- FOREIGN POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE (US): “Forming unofficial—and potentially official ties—with Somaliland offers Taiwan a chance to showcase what it has to offer to other countries, particularly smaller, marginalized states. It will also open up new opportunities regionally that may not have existed and shows that Taiwan will not sit idly by as Beijing seeks to further isolate it.” — Thomas Shattuck, research associate and managing editor (READ MORE)
- OBSERVER RESEARCH FOUNDATION (INDIA): “Within Africa, various contrasting perceptions of the Taiwan-Somaliland agreement have begun to emerge. While some commentators suggest that Somaliland will become a hotspot for the emerging tensions between US and China, attract more foreign forces in the Gulf of Aden, and further complicate the political dynamics in the Horn of Africa, others appreciate Somaliland’s determination to forge ahead on a path of its own choosing, despite the looming fear of attracting retribution for defying China” — Abhishek Mishra, a junior fellow with ORF’s Strategic Studies Programme. (READ MORE)
