Somalia Bars Taiwanese Passport Holders From Entering the Country

Somalia prohibited the headlines of Taiwanese passports on Wednesday to enter the country, in a movement that the authorities in Taiwan blamed Chinese pressure on the nation of the horn of Africa.

The Somali government is fighting a movement of independence of decades in Somalilandia, a separatist territory in the north of the country that in recent years has deepened with Taiwan, causing outrage both in Somalia and China.

Somalilandia declared the independence of Somalia in 1991 after the collapse of the central government in Mogadiscio, but they do not recognize any government.

In a note, a copy of which obtained the New York Times, the Somali authorities cited compliance with resolution 2758 of the United Nations, a measure approved in 1971 recognizing the People’s Republic of China as the only Chinese world authority. The resolution does not mention Taiwan’s sovereignty status, but Beijing has long said that the resolution gives it total control on the island.

The memorandum, dated April 22, also called the “unauthorized establishment” or the representative office of Taiwan in Hargeisa, the capital of Somalilandia, a “clear violation of Somalia’s sovereignty.”

The decision to ban Taiwanese passport holders occurred five days before Taiwan Foreign Minister was scheduled to visit the territory, said a senior Somaliland official who speaks under condition of anonymity to discuss delicate issues. Last week, Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-Lung visited Eswatini, the small kingdom of southern Africa, which is the only country in the continent that formally recognizes the island.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked Somalia to revert the prohibition of traveling “immediately” and urged his national to Somalia or Somaliland until he had done so.

Somalilandia Foreign Minister Abdirahman Dahir Adam, described the prohibition of “unfortunate” and “alarming.”

“Air traffic control should not be politicized in any way,” he said in a telephone interview with The Times.

China welcomed Somalia’s decision. It was a “legitimate measure” to safeguard the “arrogant and territorial integrity” of the country, said Guo Jiakun, spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at a press conference on Wednesday. Mr. Guo added that Taiwan was a “inalienable” part of China.

The Somalia Civil Aviation Authority did not immediately respond to a request for comments.

Wednesday’s announcement was not the first time that Somalia had imposed similar travel restrictions. Last year, the Mogadiscio authorities rejected the entrance to an airplane carrying Ethiopian officials amid tensions in a port agreement between Somalilandia and Ethiopia.

Beijing continues to expand its influence in Africa and isolate Taiwan in the process. Throughout the continent, China has taken advantage of its political and economic power to push governments to cut ties with Taipei.

Somaliland recently moved to the courts of the Trump administration after years of developing ties with republican legislators and Think Tanks conservative.

In 2020, Taiwan opened an office in Hargeisa and appointed the ambassador. Somaliland also sent a representative to Taiwan.

Subsequently, Taiwan supported the impulse of Somaliland for recognition, trained his military, tested scholarships to the students, supplied medical equipment and roads financed. High Taiwanese officials also visited Somaliland, including the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, who attended the presidential inauguration in December.

“Our history and our aspirations have joined us by the hand,” said Ambassador Allen C. Lou de Taiwan in an interview with The Times in Hargeisa last month.

Somalia sees the growing relationship between Taiwan and Somaliland as a challenge for territorial integrity.

This month, the Prime Minister of Somalia made a historical visit to the Anod, a city in a dispute region in southeast Somaliland. Since 2023, Somaliland has been fighting local armed militias for the control of the city, which leads to a generalized displacement and hundreds of deaths and injuries, according to the rights groups, help workers and doctors.

Amnesty International has accused Somaliland’s security forces of bombing, killing and hurting Somaliland civilians in Anod. The government has denied deliberately damage civilians.

China has provided the region played through Somalia, a decision that Taiwanese officials and some experts say that it aims to disturb Somaliland and eliminate their political position. Beijing has also increased his messages against Hargeisa; His ambassador to Mogadiscio has regularly with Somali officials.

Experts said that Somalia’s decision to block the Taiwanese passport holders indicates more problems ahead. “The prohibition offers one of the most complicated and unresolved problems of Africa, that of Somalia and Somaliland, a global geopolitical element,” said Moustafa Ahmad, a researcher of relations with China and Taiwan with countries.

Amy Chang Chien Taipei contributed reports, Taiwan.