Taiwan says Somalia bans entry to its citizens

TAIPEI - Somalia has banned entry to Taiwan passport holders citing compliance with a United Nations resolution, the island's foreign ministry said, blaming Chinese pressure on Mogadishu at a time Taiwan is boosting ties with Somaliland.

Somaliland broke away from Somalia in 1991 but has not gained widespread international recognition for its independence. The region has been mostly peaceful while Somalia has grappled with three decades of civil war.

Taiwan, claimed by China as its own territory and likewise diplomatically isolated, and Somaliland set up representative offices in each other's capitals in 2020, to the anger of both Mogadishu and Beijing.

In a statement late on Tuesday, Taiwan's foreign ministry said the Somalia Civil Aviation Authority had last week issued a notice that as of Wednesday, no Taiwanese passports will be accepted for entry to Somalia.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has lodged a solemn protest against the Somali government's move, instigated by China, to restrict the freedom and security of travel of our nationals, and demands the Somali government immediately revoke the announcement," it said.

The Somalia Civil Aviation Authority did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside of regular business hours in Mogadishu.

A spokesman for China's foreign ministry said the decision was a legitimate measure taken by Somalia to safeguard its rights and interests.

"It also shows that Somalia firmly abides by the one China principle ... we firmly oppose the establishment of institutions or any form of official exchange between the Taiwan authorities and Somaliland," ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a regular news conference on Wednesday.

The notice of the entry ban has gone to airlines and was given so that Somalia complies with United Nations Resolution 2758, passed in 1971 and which saw the Beijing government take Taipei's place at the global body, and the "one China" principle, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Taiwan, along with the United States, says the UN resolution makes no mention of Taiwan's status and that China has deliberately misinterpreted it. China says the resolution gives international legal standing to its claims of sovereignty over the democratically governed island.