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Tuvalu’s Taiwan ties in the balance as Pacific nation gets new prime minister

  • The issue of diplomatic recognition is up for debate in the island nation, which is one of only three remaining Pacific allies of Taiwan
  • A defence deal with Australia could also be up for review. Tuvalu’s new prime minister, Feleti Teo, has not made his position on the subjects public

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Funafuti, capital island of Tuvalu, is seen from a plane. The Pacific nation is one of just 12 states that still formally recognise Taiwan. Photo: AP
Reuters
Tuvalu on Monday announced former attorney general and fisheries official Feleti Teo as its new prime minister, after he was elected unopposed by lawmakers in the Pacific nation, officials said.
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Former Prime Minister Kausea Natano, who had backed long-standing relations with Taipei, lost his seat in a closely watched January 26 general election amid a geopolitical tussle for influence in the South Pacific.
Tuvalu, with a population of about 11,200 spread across nine islands, is one of just 12 states that still formally recognise Taiwan – and one of only three remaining in the Pacific, after neighbouring Nauru cut ties last month and switched to Beijing, which had promised more development help.
Men carry ballot boxes in preparation for Tuvalu’s general elections in January. The election result was delayed by several weeks due to bad weather. Photo: Tuvalu Election Office/Handout via Reuters
Men carry ballot boxes in preparation for Tuvalu’s general elections in January. The election result was delayed by several weeks due to bad weather. Photo: Tuvalu Election Office/Handout via Reuters
Beijing has already poached some of Taiwan’s Pacific allies, convincing Solomon Islands and Kiribati to switch recognition in 2019 before Nauru did the same.

Teo secured the support of lawmakers who were elected last month and was declared prime minister by the governor general, government secretary Tufoua Panapa said in an emailed statement. Teo, who was educated in New Zealand and Australia, was Tuvalu’s first attorney general. He has decades of experience as a senior official in the regional fisheries organisation and has worked with the Pacific Islands Forum, the region’s major political and economic group. Fishing is a major source of revenue in the Pacific islands.

Tuvalu lawmaker Simon Kofe congratulated Teo in a social media post. “It is the first time in our history that a prime minister has been nominated unopposed,” he said.

The election result in Tuvalu had been delayed by three weeks as dangerous weather stopped boats from bringing new lawmakers to the capital to vote for prime minister, highlighting why climate change is the top political issue in the Pacific nation.
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