Taiwan and Nauru have signed a bilateral air services agreement as Taipei and Beijing continue their competition for recognition among the small Pacific island states, the Taipei Times has reported.
The agreement was signed during the official visit of President Lionel Aingimea to Taiwan. Nauru Airlines (Nauru) has already sent representatives to Taiwan to discuss potential flights.
"Taiwan has strongly supported Nauru’s infrastructure and economic development. When Nauru experienced a financial crisis in the 1990s, it was Taiwan that helped revive the operations of Nauru Airlines," Aingimea said.
Nauru Airlines' current network connects Nauru with Majuro in the Marshall Islands, Tarawa in Kiribati, Nadi in Fiji, Honiara in the Solomon Islands, and Brisbane International in Australia. Services to Taipei Taoyuan, if launched, would be 1.5 times longer than the current longest route to Brisbane. Nauru Airlines operates four B737-300s and one B737-300(F), all registered in Australia through Nauru Airlines (Australia) subsidiary, the ch-aviation fleets module shows.
Nauru is one of only 14 UN member states which recognise Taiwan as an independent country. Fellow Pacific countries such as the Marshall Islands, Palau, and Tuvalu also recognise Taiwan. However, Kiribati and the Solomon Islands switched recognition to Beijing earlier this year, wooed by the People's Republic of China's diplomatic and economic offensive. The Guardian recently reported that the Solomon Islands' decision to switch recognition could have also been motivated by hundreds of thousands of US dollars in bribes offered by Beijing's representatives.
