Eswatini has waded into the diplomatic tussle between China and Taiwan, with the southern African kingdom’s Prime Minister Cleopas Dlamini saying Monday that his country will always side with Taipei against “any sort of bullying or aggression”.
According to reports monitored here, Dlamini – who is on an official visit to Taiwan that began on Sunday – told Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen that Eswatini was “fully opposed to any sort of bullying or aggression by any country or state as we believe people should maintain the freedom to choose how to be governed, and state sovereignty should be respected at all times.”
This was an apparent reference to the ongoing tensions between China and Taiwan over control of the island.
China has long claimed that Taiwan is its territory, and has considered any support for the island’s leaders as a violation of Beijing’s sovereignty.
The Taipei authorities, however, insist that Taiwan is already a de facto nation that should be readmitted to the United Nations.
China has conducted an unprecedented number of military drills around Taiwan since the visit by then United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in August 2022. The drills appeared to practice a blockade of Taiwan, with exercises occurring around the island that Beijing has pledged to bring under its control one day.
“The people of Taiwan should be governed within Taiwan by a government they elect themselves in fair and free elections, with no external pressure,” Dlamini said.
Eswatini and Taiwan have enjoyed diplomatic relations since the two established formal ties in 1968.
Eswatini is one of 13 countries or jurisdictions that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Others are Belize, Guatemala, Haiti, Vatican City, Honduras, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Tuvalu.
JN/APA