Taiwan’s president urged the Solomon Islands not to switch diplomatic allegiance to China Monday, as the Pacific nation deliberates whether to recognise the far more economically powerful Beijing instead. The Solomons are among only 17 countries that maintain official ties with Taiwan, but Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has vowed to review the relationship. Beijing has poached five diplomatic allies from Taipei since the 2016 election of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen – part of a wider campaign to isolate the island because her party refuses to accept that Taiwan is part of “one China.”
