30, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlotte Graham-McLay) Flags of member states fly outside the summit venue for the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Koror, Palau, Sunday, Aug.
“There will always be consequences,” Qian Bo, China’s special envoy for Pacific island affairs, said on Monday. “Taiwan is honoured to serve as a partner in the Pacific, continuing to stand with everyone and work together to make the Pacific more prosperous and peaceful,” Lin said on Monday. “The Pacific Islands Forum determines what happens here, not any other country,” Albanese said, describing the gathering as “primarily a gathering of the Pacific family”. New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters also said the forum does not take instructions from countries outside the group.
Taiwanese foreign minister Lin Chia-lung, who was invited to meetings and side events alongside the forum, defended Taipei’s role in the region. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended the forum’s right to manage its own affairs when asked about Qian’s warning. Australia, New Zealand and the US have traditionally regarded the South Pacific as an area of strategic importance.
On Tuesday, New Zealand and the US said in a joint statement that they would jointly fund a major upgrade to a Second World War-era port on an atoll in the Cook Islands.