KEY POINTS
- Chinese Foreign Minister holds a phone call with his Somali counterpart.
- China opposes Somaliland’s efforts to seek independence through engagement with Taiwan authorities.
- Israel recognised Somaliland region as an independent state on December 25.
- African Union rejected Israel’s move, warning it could undermine regional stability.
- Somalia’s president termed Israel’s recognition of Somaliland a threat to national unity.
BEIJING: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has reaffirmed Beijing’s support for Somalia’s efforts to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity during a phone conversation with his Somali counterpart on Sunday, according to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry.
The Chinese top diplomat held the phone call during his visit to Africa, and said China opposed Somaliland’s collusion with Taiwan authorities to seek independence, the statement said.
Somalia had been included in Wang Yi’s annual New Year tour of Africa, alongside visits to Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Lesotho, but the stop in the East African country was postponed due to what the Chinese embassy described as a “change in schedule.”
It may be recalled that Israel, on December 25, formally recognised the Somaliland region as an “independent and sovereign state” and signed an agreement to establish diplomatic relations, as the region’s leader welcomed what he described as its first official recognition.
Several other countries condemned Israel’s decision. The African Union (AU) rejected the move and warned that it risked “setting a dangerous precedent with far-reaching implications for peace and stability across the continent”.
Somaliland “remains an integral part” of Somalia, an AU member, said the pan-African body’s head, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the decision was “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords”, referring to a series of agreements brokered by US President Donald Trump in his first term that normalised ties between Israel and several Arab nations.
Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has described the move as a serious threat to national unity.
