Taiwan has expressed “grave concerns” about growing pressure from South Africa to downgrade and relocate its de facto embassy from Pretoria, the country’s administrative capital.
The island’s foreign ministry confirmed on Monday that the South African government renewed a demand in late January asking the island to move its representative office out of Pretoria by the end of March.
“It is also seeking to downgrade the status of our representative office from the Taipei Liaison Office in the Republic of South Africa to a trade office,” the ministry said, attributing Pretoria’s move to “increasing Chinese suppression”.
The diplomatic dispute has been simmering since October, when Pretoria first requested the office be vacated. While Pretoria initially set a deadline for the end of October, it later agreed to suspend the demand pending further talks with Taiwan.
“Despite our ongoing negotiations, the South African government has renewed its demand for Taiwan’s representative office to vacate the capital within a set deadline,” the ministry said.
It suggested the renewed pressure was linked to Beijing’s growing influence over Pretoria, particularly after China put sanctions on Ivan Meyer, leader of South Africa’s second-largest party, the Democratic Alliance, in mid-January for visiting Taiwan.
Beijing accused Meyer of violating the “one-China principle” and interfering in China’s internal affairs.
The sanctions include bans on Meyer and his family travelling to mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau, as well as on them having any business dealings with Chinese entities.
South Africa switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1997 and has since maintained close ties with China, including receiving over US$10 billion in loans for state-owned enterprises since 2015.
Since Pretoria renewed its demand, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung has convened a crisis response task force to tackle the issue.
The ministry also summoned South Africa’s newly appointed representative to Taiwan, Zakhele Mnisi, to express its “grave concerns”, it said, repeating the island’s rejection of Pretoria’s “unilateral breach of bilateral agreements”.
“Taiwan will continue to engage with the South African government based on the principles of reciprocity and dignity. Future responses will be determined based on South Africa’s reaction and Taiwan’s strategic considerations,” the ministry said.
The ministry urged South Africa, as the host of this year’s G20 summit, to honour the legal framework established under a 1997 bilateral agreement. The agreement allows Taiwan to operate a liaison office in Pretoria despite the absence of formal ties, and South Africa to maintain its liaison office in Taipei, which serves as its de facto embassy on the island.
“Until a mutual consensus is reached through negotiations, South Africa should refrain from taking any coercive actions against Taiwan’s representative office or any measures that could disrupt its operations and services to the Taiwanese community,” it said.
Observers suggested that the developments reflected broader geopolitical shifts, with Beijing exerting increasing pressure on countries, particularly in Africa and Latin America, to align with its foreign policy objectives.
“South Africa maintains close ties with Beijing and is a member of Brics. As a result, it naturally opts for a solid relationship with mainland China,” said Li Da-jung, a professor of international relations and strategic studies at Tamkang University in Taiwan.
Li noted that as the Trump administration began its new term, Beijing’s actions might be part of a broader strategy to “test the waters” of US foreign policy.
“Whether the issue of Taiwan’s representative office will be a priority for the Trump administration, and whether it will be willing to counter South Africa’s pressure, remains to be seen,” Li added.
Beijing considers Taiwan part of China, to be reunified by force if necessary. While the United States, like most countries, does not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, it opposes any attempts at forced unification with China and remains committed to supporting Taiwan’s self-defence through arms sales and strategic cooperation.
