NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga – A joint declaration by Pacific leaders was reissued on Aug 31 morning with mentions of Taiwan removed after China slammed an earlier version as a “mistake” that “must be corrected”.

After five days of talks in Tonga, a “cleared” communique was released on Aug 30 that reaffirmed a 30-year-old agreement allowing Taiwan to take part in the Pacific Islands Forum.

But the wording immediately raised the ire of Chinese diplomats, who piled pressure on Pacific leaders to amend the document.

The forum reissued the communique without explanation on Aug 31 morning, conspicuously deleting the paragraph concerning the bloc’s “relations with Taiwan”.

“It must be a mistake. It must be a mistake,” China’s special envoy to the Pacific islands, Mr Qian Bo, told reporters on Aug 30. “This is a surprising mistake made by someone. I’m not sure, but I think it must be corrected.”

Mr Qian earlier said he had contacted the bloc’s secretariat in the hope of clarifying the situation.

“This should not be the final communique, there must be a correction on the text.”

The original paragraph – titled “Relations with Taiwan/Republic of China” – said leaders had “reaffirmed” the 1992 decision that paved the way for Taiwan’s participation in the forum.

Beijing has aggressively sought to exclude Taiwan – a self-governing island of more than 23 million people – from international bodies and rejects its autonomy.

Solomon Islands, China’s main partner in the South Pacific, has lobbied for Taiwan to be stripped of its “development partner” status with the Pacific Islands Forum.

A spokesperson from New Zealand’s Foreign Ministry told AFP on Aug 31 that there had not been a consensus on the paragraph in question.

“There are a range of views among the 18 Pacific Islands Forum members and part of the Pacific way is respect for different views and the importance of consensus,” the spokesperson added in a statement.

A spokesperson for the forum did not reply to a request for comment.

The South Pacific was once seen as a bastion of support for Taiwan’s claim to statehood, but China has methodically whittled this down.

In the past five years, Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Nauru have all been persuaded to switch diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.

Beijing insists that its diplomatic allies withdraw recognition of the self-ruled island.

Palau, Marshall Islands and Tuvalu maintain diplomatic relations with Taipei but face constant pressure to change.

US territories Guam and American Samoa were elevated to associate members of the forum, also against the wishes of the Solomon Islands. AFP