Taiwan says Kenya expelled ocean conference delegates after China pressure
Taipei said two scholars were detained in Kenya before the Our Ocean Conference, while Nairobi said it recognizes only one China.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
Taiwan accused Kenya of blocking two delegates from an international ocean conference in Mombasa, saying Kenyan authorities detained and deported them after pressure from Beijing. The dispute pushed the China-Taiwan sovereignty issue into a meeting focused on climate change, biodiversity and marine pollution.
Focus Taiwan, the English-language site of Taiwan’s Central News Agency, reported that two members of a Taiwanese delegation traveling to the Our Ocean Conference were refused entry by Kenyan immigration officials. Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday that the two scholars were held for more than 20 hours before being removed from the country.
The ministry said the scholars’ passports and mobile phones were taken while they were detained. In a statement, it condemned what it called the seizure of documents and phones and the restriction of personal and communication freedoms, saying those actions violated human rights and international norms.
Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council, the government agency responsible for marine policy, said the delegates’ visas were canceled at the last moment. The council described the episode as “barbaric obstruction.”
Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling said political interference did nothing to help ocean governance, adding that the world’s oceans needed broader and deeper cooperation, according to the council.
Kenya cites one-China policy
Kenya defended the deportations. Korir Sing’oei, principal secretary in Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Nairobi’s foreign policy recognizes only one China.
Sing’oei said anyone presenting a Taiwanese passport would not normally be allowed into Kenya because they would lack proper documentation. He also said such a person would not be part of a formal state meeting hosted by Kenya’s government.
China and Taiwan have been governed separately since 1949, after China’s civil war. Beijing regards Taiwan as part of its territory and has said the island must come under its control, including by force if necessary.
Kenya’s position reflects Beijing’s diplomatic demand that countries recognize the People’s Republic of China as the sole representative of China. Taiwan maintains its own government, but most countries do not have formal diplomatic relations with Taipei.
Ocean talks continue in Mombasa
Kenya is hosting the annual Our Ocean Conference, which brings governments and other participants together to address threats to the seas. The agenda includes climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.
Organizers have presented the meeting as the first time Africa has hosted the conference and as a chance for the continent to play a larger role in global ocean policy. Environmental activists demonstrated at Pirates Beach in Mombasa ahead of the gathering, according to Reuters.
One focus for African and Commonwealth nations at the conference is carrying out a treaty adopted in June 2023 to protect the high seas. The agreement, known as the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction treaty, is intended to cover marine areas outside national waters.
Delegates said the next several months would help determine whether the treaty becomes an effective conservation tool or remains a set of unfulfilled international commitments. The conference comes as many ocean protection pledges have yet to become enforceable protections.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.