Feleti Teo, the former Attorney General of Tuvalu, was announced as the new prime minister of the small South Pacific nation on Monday following elections that saw the previous government leader ousted.
Teo was the sole candidate nominated by his 15 lawmaker colleagues, and Governor General Tofiga Vaevalu Falani declared him elected without a formal vote, as stated by government secretary Tufoua Panapa.
The swearing-in ceremony for Teo and his Cabinet is scheduled to take place later this week.
It remains to be seen how the new government will impact China’s influence in the country, which is situated between Australia and HawaiÊ»i and has a population of around 11,500 people. However, experts do not anticipate any immediate changes in diplomatic recognition, at least in the short term.
The previous prime minister, Kausea Natano, and three of his ministers were not reelected in the January 26 election. Natano had advocated for Tuvalu to maintain its official diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a stance that his former finance minister Seve Paeniu, a potential leadership candidate, sought to reconsider.
In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning urged Tuvalu to switch its diplomatic recognition to China. Nauru, another Pacific Island nation, recently shifted its ties from Taiwan to China following Taiwan’s presidential and legislative elections.
Under the new government, a proposed security treaty between Tuvalu and Australia may be altered or discarded. The treaty, which was announced in late 2019, outlines Australia’s commitment to assisting Tuvalu in response to natural disasters, pandemics, and military threats.
In addition, the treaty allows Australia to provide refuge to up to 280 Tuvaluans per year due to the challenges brought about by climate change, including rising sea levels and increased storms.
The future of the treaty, including Australia’s veto power over Tuvalu’s security agreements with other nations, will likely be revisited by the new government. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese referenced the treaty in his congratulations to Teo on his election.
Experts anticipate that the new government will review the treaty and make adjustments to suit their priorities. Despite these potential changes, the support for maintaining relations with Taiwan is expected to remain strong for now.
The geopolitical competition between the United States and China in the South Pacific is evident, with recent incidents involving a U.S. Coast Guard cutter patrolling waters near Kiribati amid interactions with Chinese fishing vessels.