By Lucy Craymer
WELLINGTON (Reuters) – The foreign minister of Tuvalu pulled out of the United Nations Ocean Conference opening in Portugal on Monday after China blocked the participation of three Taiwanese included in the tiny Pacific island nation’s delegation list, according to Radio New Zealand.
Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, is not a member of the United Nations and its citizens are unable to attend UN events as representatives of Taiwan.
Tuvalu Foreign Minister Simon Kofe withdrew from the conference after China challenged the accreditation of three Taiwanese delegates included in Tuvalu’s delegation, Radio New Zealand reported on Monday.
The small Pacific island nation of 12,000 people has had diplomatic ties with Taiwan since 1979, and is one of just 14 states around the world that continue to have diplomatic relations with Taiwan rather than China.
Taiwan is largely excluded from international organisations that have China as a member.Kofe grabbed global attention for his nation last year when he addressed a global climate conference standing ankle deep in the sea to illustrate Tuvalu was “sinking”. Forty percent of the capital district is underwater at high tide, and the tiny country is forecast to be submerged by the end of the century.
Around 7,000 people, from heads of state to environmental activists, are expected to attend the conference that starts Monday.
(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
