Pacific leaders remove Taiwan from communique after China complaint

The Pacific Islands Forum has removed references to Taiwan from a communique issued on Friday after the region's annual leaders meeting, after complaints by China's envoy.

The bloc of 18 nations includes three members with diplomatic ties to Taiwan, and 15 members who recognize China, a major infrastructure lender to Pacific Islands countries where Beijing seeks to increase its security presence.

A communique released on Friday on the forum's website included a "Relations with Taiwan/Republic of China" section stating "Leaders reaffirmed the 1992 Leaders decision on relations with Taiwan/Republic of China".

The communique was removed from the website on Friday evening after an angry response from China, and a new document was posted on Saturday morning with the references to Taiwan removed.

The forum's secretariat did not respond to a Reuters request for comment, and there was no immediate comment from Taiwan's foreign ministry.

Reuters