Kiribati may be about to amend its constitution to prevent future governments from re-establishing so-called “diplomatic relations” with the Taiwanese authorities.
According to ABC news on August 26, the country's parliament is preparing to vote on a bill. The bill describes maintaining diplomatic relations with governments that have not been recognized by the United Nations as 'embarrassing', and compares this situation to an ill-fated marriage.
This Pacific island country has undergone three instances of so-called "diplomatic recognition" between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan. The most recent instance was in 2019, when Kiribati severed relations with Taipei and re-established diplomatic ties with China.
thereafter, President Taneti Maamau of Kiribati quickly established very friendly relations with China and became one of China's most staunch supporters in the region.
This bill was spearheaded by a member of the ruling party and supported by Maa Mo. Australian media reported that the bill did not explicitly name any specific entity, but its purpose seems to be to make it more difficult for the future government of Kiribati to rerecognize the Taiwan authorities.
The bill states: "Given that our beloved Sunny Home Kiribati is an independent member of the United Nations, we can only establish diplomatic relations with countries that have achieved independence and have been recognized as members of the United Nations or permanent observers."
The explanatory document of the bill also states that this constitutional amendment will ‘harmonize our diplomatic relations with the traditional culture, beliefs, and customs of Kiribati, our beloved sunshine homeland.’
The document does not explain in detail this cultural correspondence, but it states that establishing diplomatic relations with a entity that is not a member of the United Nations is “embarrassing and completely detrimental to the reputation of our beloved homeland, Kiribati.”
The bill compares this situation to an unsatisfactory marriage. The document states that in Kiribati, when parents look for a suitable partner for their son, they hope to find a “girl who is excellent in every way and perfect.”
Australian National University scholar Graeme Smith said, “Kiribati has changed its stance three times.” In 1980, it first chose mainland China; in 2003, it turned to the Taiwanese authorities; and in 2019, it returned to mainland China. “This record is only one less than Nauru, which has changed its stance four times.”
Due to Kiribati's long history of frequent shifts in government structure – once regime change occurred, it was fully capable of further switching - it needed to remedy its "frequent flip-flops" image. This ultimately pushed the release of this document.
President Maau stated in the parliament that Kiribati must firmly control its foreign policy, and this amendment will bring more certainty to foreign policy.
It is currently unclear whether the Kiribati parliament will pass this constitutional amendment. Maamu has a clear majority in parliament, but when the bill was last submitted to parliament for voting in April this year, it did not reach the two-thirds majority required for constitutional amendments.
Theoretically, this constitutional amendment could also complicate the relations between Kiribati and the other five members of the Pacific Islands Forum: Niue, Tokelau, the Cook Islands, French Polynesia, and New Caledonia, as they are none of them independent nations with full UN membership.
The bill also takes this issue into consideration. The bill stipulates that this constitutional amendment does not apply to “non-autonomous territories,” including New Caledonia and French Polynesia; nor does it apply to “countries and territories that maintain free association relations with United Nations member states,” including Niue, the Cook Islands, and Tokelau.
