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Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.Credit:AP

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen wrote on Twitter that the Solomon Islands'decision reflected “China’s unceasing efforts to lure away our allies” and force the island to accept Beijing’s Hong Kong formula for reunification -'One Country,Two Systems'”.

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry “strongly condemned” the decision by the Solomon Islands cabinet,taken on Monday,and said it was “extremely regrettable”.

“The government of China has once again resorted to dollar diplomacy and false promises of large amounts of foreign assistance to buy off a small number of politicians,” a Taiwanese statement said.

Diplomatic rivalry between China and Taiwan in the Pacific pre-dates concerns in Australia about rising Chinese investment in the Pacific.

The Solomon Islands.Credit:James Brickwood

Since Tsai became President,six nations have switched recognition to China,leaving only 16 worldwide that recognise Taiwan. Five of those nations are in the Pacific and Australia is not among them.

The ministry said the diplomatic switch had been timed to damage Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party ahead of presidential elections,and hit back at the Solomon Islands,saying it would end aid projects.

“The government hereby declares the termination of diplomatic relations with Solomon Islands with immediate effect,the end of all bilateral cooperative projects,as well as the recall of the staff of its Embassy,technical mission,and medical mission,” a statement from Foreign Minister Joseph Wu read.

Taiwan also demanded the immediate recall of Solomon Islands staff.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare had said he would reassess the Pacific nation’s diplomatic ties with Taiwan after he won office in April.

But Taiwan claimed the final decision to switch was based on"a highly biased"taskforce report that was"full of fabrications and blatant misinformation".

Adam Ni,a China researcher at Macquarie University,said China’s increasing influence in the Pacific and its “aid and investment inducements” were the reason behind the diplomatic switch.

He said while it was natural for small countries in the Pacific to see China as opportunity for tourism,trade and aid,China’s campaign to persuade Taiwan’s diplomatic allies to switch was an attempt to deter Taiwan from seeking independence.

The Taiwan Foreign Ministry statement accused China of “continued efforts to expand its authoritarianism,set debt traps for other countries,and fulfil its strategic goals and gain influence in the Indo-Pacific region”.

As part of a recent move to step up Australian aid and influence in the Pacific,Australiahas funded an undersea cable to the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea to block Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei from building the Coral Sea Cable System.

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