South Africa has requested that Taiwan relocates its de facto embassy from the country’s capital, indicating China’s increasing influence in the Global South. According to Taiwan’s foreign ministry, they have been instructed to move the embassy from Pretoria to Johannesburg by the end of the month.
The strengthening of relations between South Africa and China was highlighted when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the African nation for the BRICS summit in August. Furthermore, during South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s visit to Beijing this year for the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, he reaffirmed his country’s commitment to the One China principle.
The One China principle asserts that there is only one sovereign country named China, with Taiwan being an integral part of it. Countries that adhere to this principle cannot have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Following Mr. Xi’s visit, South Africa reportedly faced pressure from Chinese diplomats to compel Taiwan to relocate its embassy. Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Lim Chia-lung is said to be considering countermeasures for South Africa’s representative office in Taipei, which could include requesting South Africa to also move its office and imposing stricter visa rules for South African travellers.
Taiwan has accused Beijing of leveraging its economic power to persuade its diplomatic allies to sever or downgrade ties with Taiwan in favour of China. Taiwan views these actions as part of China’s aggressive strategy to undermine its sovereignty and global presence. With only 12 formal diplomatic allies remaining, Taiwan has lost 10 allies in the past eight years, with South Africa having terminated formal diplomatic relations in 1998.
In response to Nigeria instructing Taiwan to relocate its mission from the capital in 2017 under pressure from Beijing, Taiwan reacted by compelling Nigeria to shift its representative office out of Taipei. On the diplomatic front, Taiwan recently inaugurated its third office in India, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in Mumbai. This step drew a protest from China, expressing opposition to any official contact between Taiwan and India.
As tensions rise between Taiwan, South Africa, and China, the diplomatic landscape in the region continues to evolve amid shifting alliances and global power plays.