Taiwan says citizens banned from Somalia over Somaliland dispute

Somalia has banned entry to Taiwan passport holders citing compliance with a UN resolution, the island’s foreign ministry has revealed, blaming Chinese pressure on Mogadishu at a time that Taiwan is boosting ties with Somaliland, Reuters has reported.

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 is claimed by China as its own territory and is likewise diplomatically isolated. It set up representative offices with Somaliland 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 that 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.

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“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,” said the ministry.

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

A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry said that 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,” said ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun 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 UN Resolution 2758, passed in 1971, which saw the Beijing government take Taipei’s place at the global body.

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

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