Taiwan has cited “economic constraints” for not meeting the deadline from the department of international relations and cooperation to relocate its liaison office from Pretoria to Johannesburg. (Wikipedia)
Taiwan has cited “economic constraints” for not meeting the deadline from the department of international relations and cooperation to relocate its liaison office from Pretoria to Johannesburg.
International relations spokesman Chrispin Phiri said on Wednesday there would be negotiations to resolve the issue, given those restrictions.
“They have said that they are facing economic constraints, as an obstacle to moving their offices, so we will have engagements to see how this can be taken forward within that context,” Phiri said.
The Taipei Liaison Office declined to comment but the Taiwanese foreign ministry called the demand “unreasonable”.
Its spokesperson has accused South Africa of violating an agreement between the two countries in 1997 — the year Pretoria severed diplomatic ties with Taipei — on the location of their mutual liaison offices.
“Facing this kind of unreasonable demand, our side cannot grant our acceptance,” he said.
South Africa responded to that statement with an implied rebuke, saying it refused to communicate other than through the appropriate diplomatic channels.
Diplomatic wrangling has been ongoing since December, when South Africa made a verbal request to the Taipei office to close and move to Johannesburg.
After some to-ing and fro-ing, it followed up with written correspondence in April, at which Taiwan asked for a formal review of its bilateral relationship with South Africa.
“On 4 October, the department sent another note verbale saying the office must relocate or it would be closed down,” a source said.
And while Pretoria has officially denied that its directive regarding the liaison office was informed by pressure from China, a close ally and Brics partner, well-placed sources have told the Mail & Guardian that was indeed the case.
Faced with this, South Africa found it difficult to justify the anomaly of allowing Taiwan to maintain an office in the country’s diplomatic capital.
The Nigerian government encountered a similar situation in 2017 and compelled Taiwan to move its office in Abuja to Lagos.
The apartheid government was part of a tiny pool of nations that maintained diplomatic relations with Taiwan. At present, only 13 countries do so.
Despite this, the decision on the liaison office has drawn protest from the Democratic Alliance (DA), the ANC’s biggest coalition partner in the government of national unity. The DA intends to raise the issue in cabinet but sources have said the ANC will not be swayed on any aspect of foreign policy.