Ex-PNG premier defends Taiwan ties
Ex-PNG premier defends Taiwan ties
PORT MORESBY (Agencies): PNG Prime Minister Bill Skate formally quit his post on Thursday but stood by his decision to set up diplomatic ties with Taiwan despite protests from China.
The fallout from Skate's move, made as he faced being turned out of office for presiding over a disastrous slide in PNG's economy, widened on Thursday when Taiwan threatened to punish Australia for opposing the ties.
Taiwan said it might impose trade sanctions against Australia for attempting to stop Papua New Guinea from switching diplomatic recognition from Beijing to Taipei, which Canberra argued would cause instability in the Pacific.
"The foreign ministry is drafting trade sanction measures, under which Taiwan may switch its iron ore sourcing from Australia to PNG," Taiwan's United Evening News said.
Skate handed his letter of resignation to Governor-General Sir Silas Atopare in a brief ceremony Thursday, for which he was an hour late, but did not rule out another bid for the job.
He told reporters he would leave it to government MPs to decide if he should be renominated as prime minister when parliament resumes on July 13.
"I'm not power-hungry. It is not for me to decide," he said.
Skate said on Wednesday he had quit to restore political stability ahead of his expected dumping in a no-confidence motion in parliament within the next two weeks.
His resignation came only days after PNG sold diplomatic recognition to Taiwan in return for cheap loans worth a reported US$2.3 billion to prop up PNG's economy.
Skate, whose 23-month reign in power was punctuated by allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement, said his decision to resign was not related to the Taiwan deal.
China demanded on Thursday that PNG correct its "extremely wrong" decision to switch diplomatic recognition to Taiwan, but avoided comment on the resignation of the South Pacific nation's prime minister.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue told reporters China had lodged a strong protest with Papua New Guinea over its decision to establish diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
She described the decision as "extremely wrong" and said its reversal would allow bilateral ties to return to normal.
But Zhang responded cautiously to Skate's resignation, saying only that China had taken note of it.
China has sought to push Taiwan into diplomatic isolation by promptly severing ties with states that recognized Taipei.
Documents obtained by Reuters on Wednesday showed Skate had asked Taiwan for US$2.35 billion in loans in return for switching diplomatic ties to Taipei. Taiwan has denied offering cash or aid.
Papua New Guinea government spokesman Chris Hawkins said Skate's resignation would have no immediate effect on his government's decision to recognize Taiwan.
He said it would be up to the next prime minister, who would be selected by parliament next week, to decide the issue.