Somaliland has a right to choose its own relationships and pressure tactics from Beijing and Mogadishu have not succeeded in altering its friendship with Taipei, its top diplomat in Taiwan said on Friday at the opening of a new office.
Strategically situated on the Horn of Africa, Somaliland has enjoyed effective autonomy – and relative peace and stability – since 1991, when it broke away from Somalia as that country descended into civil war.
Somaliland and Taiwan, claimed by China as its own territory and likewise diplomatically isolated, set up representative offices in each other’s capitals in 2020.
Speaking to reporters at the opening, Somaliland’s representative to Taiwan, Mahmoud Adam Jama Galaal, said the island was a “very important ally”.
Asked about Beijing and Mogadishu wanting Somaliland to end those ties, Galaal said its main political parties were united in not succumbing to political pressure.
“We have the right to choose who we have relationships with. It’s our prerogative, and so it hasn’t been successful as far as pressure tactics,” Galaal said, saying his government has not had any communication with China recently.
China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In April last year, Somalia banned entry to Taiwan passport holders to express its anger at the relationship.
Somalia denounced attempts by Taiwan to host what it called “unauthorized” diplomatic representation for Somaliland.
“Somaliland remains an inalienable part of Somalia, and we strongly condemn external attempts to bypass the legitimate federal government in Mogadishu,” Ali Mohamed Omar, Somalia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, told Reuters on Friday.
Until late last year, Somaliland had failed to receive recognition from any other country. But in December, Israel recognised Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state, a move Somalia termed a “deliberate attack” on its sovereignty.
China likewise rejected the move, while Taiwan welcomed it.
Taiwan Deputy Foreign Minister Francois Wu, speaking at the office opening, said cooperation had expanded across a wide range of areas over the past six years.
“Taiwan and Somaliland are both beacons of democracy, freedom and rule of law,” he said.
Taiwan has been all but driven out of Africa diplomatically by China in recent years, with only tiny Eswatini maintaining full relations with the island.
Taiwan says it has a right to engage with other countries and that Beijing has no legal basis to claim the island or represent it on the international stage.
