Voting Concludes in Tuvalu Election

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Facts

• Tuvalu's polls closed on Friday after voters in the small Pacific island nation of 11K people cast their ballot to elect members of its 16-seat parliament in an election that's being closely monitored by major powers, including China, the US, Australia, and Taiwan. Tuvalu is one of only three Pacific countries that still recognize Taiwan after Nauru re-established ties with Beijing earlier this month. ¹
• This comes as Taiwan said on Thursday that China was attempting to sway the Tuvalu election to 'seize our diplomatic allies.' At a press briefing, China's foreign ministry said it had urged the remaining handful of countries that still have diplomatic relations with Taiwan to adhere to the one-China policy. ²
• Once parliamentarians are elected, government boats will collect them from their respective islands and bring them to the capital, Funafuti, where they will elect the next prime minister.²
• Besides Taiwan, the country is concerned with estimates that Funafuti might be underwater by 2050 and all nine of the country's islands may be lost by 2100. As a consequence, climate change is the top priority for the island's 6K registered voters and political candidates, while the main issue that separates them is their view of Taiwan. ¹
• They will also have to decide whether to ratify the Tuvalu-Australia security treaty, in which Australia has pledged to help Tuvalu with significant natural disasters, health pandemics, and military attacks in exchange for veto power over any security or defense-related agreements Funafuti makes with other nations.³
• Tuvalu became independent of Britain in 1978 and is currently one of only 12 countries in the world to have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. ⁴

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²Reuters.com, ³ABC News and ⁴NPR Online News.

Narratives

• Anti-China narrative, as provided by Focus Taiwan. While it's true that many countries have been pressured by Beijing to cut ties with their former friend Taiwan, that doesn't mean Tuvalu needs or wants to end its diplomatic relations. The two islands have shared strong ties on many issues, including agriculture, fisheries, and health — areas in which diplomatic cooperation is paramount. The two countries also share values that Beijing doesn't respect: freedom and democracy.
• Pro-China narrative, as provided by Global Times. Tuvalu officials have already hinted at the potential for their government to correct course and respect China's sovereignty related to Taiwan. Now that Nauru — another small island nation — has withstood the pressure of Western governments, Tuvalu should feel secure enough to ignore Western rhetoric and join the majority of the world in distancing itself from Taiwan and strengthening its already-strong relationship with Beijing.