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Kiribati is considering a constitutional amendment to prevent future governments from switching diplomatic recognition back to Taiwan. The parliament is set to vote on a bill that declares maintaining ties with countries not recognized by the United Nations as "embarrassing" and damaging to the nation's reputation.
The Pacific island nation has switched diplomatic recognition between China and Taiwan three times, most recently in 2019 when it ended relations with Taipei and re-established ties with Beijing. Since then, President Taneti Maamau has fostered a close relationship with China, becoming one of its strongest regional supporters.
The bill, championed by a government MP and supported by Maamau, does not explicitly mention Taiwan or China but aims to make it more difficult for future governments to recognize Taipei. It states, "As our BSHK (Beloved Sunny Home Kiribati) is an Independent State Member of the United Nations, our diplomatic relations shall be only with a country which had achieved its independent (sic) and (is) recognised as a State Member of the United Nations or a Permanent Observer."
Taiwan has not been a United Nations member since 1971, when its seat, held as the Republic of China, was transferred to the People's Republic of China. China has successfully reduced the number of countries maintaining official ties with Taipei, though Taiwan still retains 12 diplomatic allies, including Pacific nations such as the Marshall Islands, Palau, and Tuvalu.
Mark Harrison from the University of Tasmania commented that the proposed constitutional revision "would seem to be intended to secure Kiribati-PRC relations permanently or at least make them much more difficult to change than they would be as a matter of foreign policy."
An observer noted, "This move by Maamau appears to be almost entirely about sending a message to Beijing that Kiribati, or Beloved Sunny Home Kiribati [BSHK] as it is referred to in the proposal, is its most important booster at the Pacific Islands Forum."
The amendment seeks to harmonize Kiribati's diplomatic relations with its traditional culture, beliefs, and practices, emphasizing recognition only of United Nations member states or permanent observers.
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