South Africa has asked Taiwan to move its de facto embassy from Pretoria to Johannesburg by the end of October, following pressure from China. This move highlights China’s growing influence over developing nations, especially within BRICS. Beijing aims to diplomatically isolate Taiwan and diminish the importance of its international missions.
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By Yian Lee
South Africa has told Taiwan to move its de facto embassy out of its administrative capital at the urging of China, according to a Foreign Ministry official in Taipei — highlighting Beijing’s expanding sway among developing nations.
Taiwan got the ultimatum to relocate the so-called Taipei Liaison Office to Johannesburg from Pretoria on Oct. 7, according to the official, who asked not to be identified discussing the sensitive matter. South Africa wants the change to happen by the end of the month, the person added.
South Africa started asking Taiwan to make the switch in December 2023 after a BRICS summit it hosted, the official said on Thursday, referring to an event that Chinese leader Xi Jinping attended earlier that year. Pretoria severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1997.
South Africa’s decision marks a victory for Xi both to diplomatically isolate Taiwan and to use the BRICS grouping to become more influential around the world. Beijing has pushed to expand the bloc and take a bigger say in it, seeing it as a forum to challenge the US’s dominance in global affairs.
Membership in BRICS can get smaller nations in the Global South, a term for developing nations, easier access to financing and Chinese infrastructure projects. Xi will renew his focus on the bloc next week, when he travels to Kazan, Russia, to attend a BRICS summit.
Relocating what will be rebranded as trade offices both in Taipei and in Johannesburg is “standard diplomatic practice,” and will be a “true reflection of the non-political and non-diplomatic nature” of the relationship between South Africa and Taiwan, Pretoria’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation said in a statement.
‘Standard Practice’
“The trade office will be appropriately placed in Johannesburg, South Africa’s economic hub,” it said. “This also aligns with standard diplomatic practice that capital cities are the seats of foreign embassies and high commissions.”
The episode involving South Africa illustrates the range of tactics China uses to pressure Taiwan, which it has vowed to bring under its control someday, by force if necessary. As part of the isolation drive, Beijing tries to peel off Taipei’s few remaining allies like Nauru, which made the switch in January right after Taiwan elected Lai Ching-te as its president.
Taiwan usually opens what it calls “economic and cultural offices” or “representative offices” instead of embassies in nations that have official ties with China. Beijing appears to want to diminish the importance of those missions by getting them moved outside political capitals.
China is profoundly suspicious of Lai and the Democratic Progressive Party he belongs to because it views them as trying to formalize Taiwan’s independence. This week, Beijing ordered intense military drills around Taiwan in what it said was a warning against “separatism.”
China has indicated those maneuvers will resume whenever it is “provoked.” The US and Japan said they voiced their concerns to Beijing about the activity by its armed forces.
The official in Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said that current Chinese Ambassador Wu Peng and his predecessor, Chen Xiaodong, have worked to convince South Africa to have Taiwan move the de facto embassy.
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In response, Taiwan may tell South Africa to relocate its representative office out of Taipei, the official said. Other steps could include tightening the visa application process for South Africans and cutting the number of English teachers from the nation.
In 2018, Taiwan forced Nigeria to move its representative office outside central Taipei after it had to relocate its de facto embassy to the commercial hub of Lagos from the capital, Abuja.
Taiwan has tried to counter Beijing’s isolation campaign by expanding ties with democracies around the world. Lai’s predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen, made that a main feature of her foreign policy, building relations with the US, Japan and nations in Europe.
She’s now visiting Europe, making stops in the Czech Republic, France and Belgium, where she stopped at the European Parliament. In the coming weeks, she’s also reportedly planning to travel to the US, which supports Taiwan militarily, economically and politically.
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Response from the Democratic Alliance
Issued by Emma Louise Powell – DA Spokesperson on International Relations
The Democratic Alliance (DA) notes with concern that the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has requested the Taipei Liaison Office to leave Pretoria.
The bilateral framework that permits Taiwan trade and consular representation in both Pretoria and Cape Town has been in place for 26 years.
While the DA acknowledges South Africa’s long-standing interpretation of United Nations Resolution 2758, which aligns with the recognition of One China, we have not been provided with any motivation that justifies a unilateral change to the terms of our bilateral framework with Taiwan.
It is clear that pressure is being brought to bear on Pretoria by external actors in the context of both broader geopolitical tensions, and the newly formed Government of National Unity (GNU).
As a sovereign democracy, South Africa must resist external pressures and demonstrate our commitment to the consistent application of our policy of non-alignment.
Section 231 (1) of the Constitution is clear that the negotiation and signing of all international agreements is the responsibility of the National Executive.
The ANC no longer enjoy an outright majority, and as such, are no longer at liberty to unilaterally determine South Africa’s foreign policy positions without consulting their partners in government.
South Africa exports $540 million in coal, $180 million in grain, and $180 million in automobiles to Taiwan annually. It is critical that Taiwan continues to enjoy consular and trade representation on the same basis that they have done since 1998. Should the National Executive wish to renegotiate the terms of this bilateral agreement, consensus must first be sought within the GNU.
In light of increased global tensions and the concomitant pressures being brought to bear on middle powers throughout the world, the DA will leverage its position within the GNU to ensure a consensus based approach to determining the manner in which South Africa navigates complex geopolitical issues, in advancing our national interest.
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