Palau, Marshall Islands, Tuvalu step up push for Taiwan's reinstatement to UN

Marshall Islands president says China can't invoke UN Resolution 2758 to invade Taiwan

 By Mar-Vic Cagurangan

The Marshall Islands, Palau and Tuvalu have accelerated their campaign for Taiwan’s readmission to the United Nations, challenging the world organization to reexamine the resolution that handed its seat over to China.

At the 80th session of the UN General Assembly this week, leaders of the three Pacific island nations spoke separately with a unified voice, maintaining that the democratically governed Taiwan must be allowed to pitch in to global discussions of world crises.

They argued that Taiwan’s exclusion was based on misinterpretations of UN Resolution 2758.

Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine criticized the UNGA for perpetuating

what she described as a “false portrayal” of the resolution, which she said has been misrepresented as "a consensus on a One-China ‘UN law.’”

Hilda Heine

“Never has there been such gaslighting in this institution,” Heine

said. “The island nation of Taiwan has been repeatedly excluded

from important international engagements throughout the UN system."

Taiwan was a founding member of the UN from 1949 until it was replaced by China in 1971 by virtue of Resolution 2758, recognizing Beijing as "the only legitimate representative of China to the United Nations."

In 2007, the UN rejected Taiwan’s plea for reinstatement, maintaining that it "is part of China." Beijing has been aggressively blocking Taiwan’s membership bid.

“While this resolution does address who sits behind a nameplate at the UN, it does not confer or justify any basis for coercion or seizing sovereign control of an independent democratic nation,” Heine said.

She said China can’t invoke Resolution 2758 to justify any plans for military invasion or coercion against Taiwan.

Surangel Whipps Jr.

“At a time when international cooperation is in dire need, the very foundations of global order are now more uncertain than ever,” Heine said.

She reminded the general assembly that the UN was founded “on a commitment to never again tolerate aggression, to avoid the very kind of geopolitical tension or even future open conflict between superpowers.”

Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. said shutting Taiwan out of the global stage

has muted the voice of its 23 million people.

“Palau believes that inclusivity, which includes Taiwan, strengthens the United Nations and that no community should be barred from contributing to the solutions of our world that it so desperately needs,” Whipps said.

“As we face today's greatest challenges, climate change, ocean decline, debt, inequality, wars and conflict, no nation can carry the weight alone,” he added.

Tuvalu Prime Minister Feleti Teo endorsed Taiwan’s admission to the UN and its associated agencies.

“Tuvalu holds the strong view that the UNGA Resolution 2758 does not preclude Taiwan's meaningful participation in the UN system,” Teo told the general assembly.

Feleti Teo

“As a longstanding and reliable development partner of Tuvalu,

Taiwan has consistently demonstrated its commitment to international cooperation, making meaningful contributions across a broad range of development sectors,” he added.

The Marshall Islands, Palau and Tuvalu are Taiwan’s three remaining allies in the island region, where diplomacy tends to be an economic transaction. The Solomon Islands and Kiribati switched to Beijing in 2019, while Nauru followed suit last year.

Heine said Taiwan has been an important partner to the Marshall Islands in the areas of Sustainable Development Goals, in technical cooperation and promoting regional peace.

Taiwan has been the world’s dilemma. Its democratic system of government suits well with many democratic nations, but its status as a sovereign nation remains an unresolved issue.

“But together, guided by the spirit of the UN's founding and strengthened by 80 years of hard-learned lessons, we can turn the tide,” Whipps said.

“Let this assembly be remembered not only for the words we speak, but for the actions we take, and for the resilience we build, the justice we uphold, and the future we secure for the generations yet to be born.”

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