Papua New Guinea (PNG) declared the immediate shutdown of Taiwan's representative office in Port Moresby on July 16, in a unilateral move that Taipei flatly rejected — and one that Beijing appeared to have coordinated in advance.
Papua New Guinea Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko issued a statement on behalf of the PNG Foreign Ministry ordering the termination of operations at the Taipei Economic Office in Papua New Guinea, citing Port Moresby's commitment to the "One China Policy" it has upheld for half a century. Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded the same evening, stating it had not been consulted beforehand, rejecting the closure order outright, and directing its representative office to remain open and continue services normally.
China Praised the Decision Before PNG Made It Public
A revealing detail exposed the likely hand of Beijing in the sequence of events: China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian (林劍) publicly expressed "high appreciation" for PNG's actions during a routine press briefing on the afternoon of July 16 — before Tkatchenko had formally issued his own statement. In Taipei, the timing was widely read as evidence that Beijing helped engineer the closure.
Lin told reporters that PNG's move demonstrated the broad will of the international community to uphold the One China principle, and signaled that China was ready to deepen its comprehensive strategic partnership with Port Moresby. The PRC and PNG mark 50 years of diplomatic relations this year, a milestone that Tkatchenko's announcement appeared calibrated to underscore.
Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs convened an emergency response meeting and reached out to like-minded nations to seek attention and support for its position.
Taipei Puts PNG's Gas Revenue on the Table
Two days after the announcement, Taiwan's Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) issued a pointed economic warning. Speaking to reporters on July 18, he disclosed that Taiwan purchases close to one-third of Papua New Guinea's total liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports annually — over 1.2 million metric tons — a transaction representing a substantial share of PNG's national income.
"The government will conduct a review and take necessary responsive measures," Lin said. He stopped short of announcing formal economic sanctions, but the implication was unmistakable: Taiwan's purchasing leverage is a card it intends to play.
Lin also challenged PNG officials' framing of the bilateral relationship as economically marginal. Beyond energy trade, he said, Taiwan has supported PNG through agricultural and fisheries technical missions, development aid programs, and job creation initiatives. He noted that PNG's government had been internally divided on the Taiwan question, with an official policy review having dragged on for two years without a conclusion. "We were not consulted or invited to any discussion," Lin said. "We do not accept this, and we will continue to negotiate and coordinate with friendly nations to express concern."
Washington Labels the Closure a Beijing Intimidation Tactic
The United States weighed in firmly on Taiwan's side. According to Taiwan's Central News Agency, the State Department described the closure order as "another example of Beijing's intimidation of Taiwan and its supporters," adding that the move undermined sovereign decisions by countries to work with Taiwan and posed a threat to international peace and prosperity. Washington described Taiwan as a reliable, like-minded, and democratic partner whose ties around the world — including with PNG — bring tangible benefits to the people of those nations.
Lin welcomed the US response and placed the PNG episode in a broader pattern. "This is an example of the Chinese Communist Party using political pressure and economic coercion to intimidate Taiwan and democratic nations," he said. "We must work with our allies to face this new type of threat together."
PNG established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China in 1976, one year after independence. Port Moresby briefly recognized Taipei in 1997 and maintained formal ties for just 17 days in July 1999 before returning to the One China framework. In 2018, under direct pressure from Beijing, Taiwan's Port Moresby office was compelled to rebrand from "Republic of China (Taiwan) Trade Mission to Papua New Guinea" to the politically neutralized "Taipei Economic Office in Papua New Guinea." Tkatchenko's July 16 order represents the second time in eight years that Beijing has used PNG as a venue to squeeze Taiwan's diplomatic footprint in the Pacific.
*This English article is compiled from 巴紐片面關閉台灣辦事處 林佳龍撂重話：檢視百萬噸天然氣採購，將採必要行動, 中國再出手打壓？我駐巴紐辦事處「被宣布」關閉 外交部回應了
