Taiwan has reviewed the state of its economic and trade relations with Papua New Guinea, which include natural gas purchases, and may introduce response measures after the country recently announced its decision to close Taiwan’s representative office. That came from Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) speaking to the press on Saturday, July 18.

Papua New Guinea Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko announced on July 17 that Taiwan’s representative office in the country would be closed. The move drew praise from Beijing and condemnation from Taiwan. Like most countries, Papua New Guinea maintains diplomatic relations only with China and does not have formal ties with Taiwan.

Lin said that differing opinions still exist within the Papua New Guinea government regarding the decision, particularly since the country has not yet completed the review of its Taiwan policy. He noted that the claim made by some Papuan officials that there are no economic exchanges between the two sides is not true. Lin said Taiwan purchases 1.2 million metric tons of natural gas from Papua New Guinea each year, which accounts for nearly one-third of the country’s natural gas exports and is an important source of revenue. He added that the government will conduct a review of the purchases and take necessary response measures.

Lin said that political pressure and economic coercion by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are behind the matter, and that Taiwan will work with partners to jointly confront this new form of threat. He noted that on July 17, the U.S. State Department publicly expressed concern about the matter and said that this action undermines the regional situation and represents yet another example of the CCP’s intimidation of Taiwan and its global partners.