DgcityTaiwan said it would close its representative office in Papua New Guinea, withdraw its staff and halt spot purchases of liquefied natural gas from the Pacific nation, a sharp escalation of a diplomatic standoff that Taipei blamed on Chinese pressure. The foreign ministry said Port Moresby had renewed demands that personnel of the Taipei Economic Office leave within a fixed deadline and had pushed for the mission to be shut. In response, Taiwan said it would close the office, end all technical cooperation and assistance, and conduct a full review of ties.
The economic retaliation was significant. Taiwan said it would sign no new spot contracts for Papua New Guinean LNG, after projected spot purchases of roughly 500,000 tons for the first half of this year. Taiwanese purchases have accounted for around one-third of Papua New Guinea’s LNG exports, giving Taipei genuine leverage. Officials in Taipei said they had already lined up alternative supplies to keep domestic energy markets stable.
Programs affected go beyond energy. Medical missions, agricultural technical teams, scholarships and talent development schemes will all end, according to the ministry. Staff from Taiwan’s diplomatic and technical missions began leaving the country this week, with a small team staying behind to wind the office down.
The office, opened in 1990, was never an embassy. Papua New Guinea recognises the government in Beijing and formally adheres to the one-China principle, but it had allowed Taiwan to maintain a substantial de facto presence for decades. That arrangement became untenable in July, when Papua New Guinea’s foreign minister announced the mission would close. Taipei initially resisted and kept the office running.
Taiwan’s statement described the episode as a textbook example of China using political pressure and economic influence to squeeze its international space. Beijing welcomed the closure and said expanding Chinese purchases of Papua New Guinean LNG would deepen ties. Port Moresby’s trade minister defended the move, noting that China is now the country’s largest trading partner.
The Pacific has long been one of the most contested theaters of cross-strait diplomacy. Taiwan now retains formal ties with only three Pacific island nations — Palau, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands — and just 12 countries worldwide. The withdrawal leaves its regional footprint smaller even as the United States and its allies compete harder for influence in Melanesia.
