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Explainer | Why Taiwan, US and China are watching Marshall Islands vote count
- The election raises the possibility the island nation – one of Taiwan’s four remaining Pacific allies – will pick a pro-Beijing leader
- A new administration could also jeopardise the island nation’s relationship with the US, which relies on it as a strategic defence outpost
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As vote counting in the Republic of the Marshall Islands continues after a general election last week, Taiwan and Washington are keeping a close eye on the tally.
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One of China’s top foreign-policy priorities is relieving Taiwan of its few diplomatic allies – nations that do not accept the self-ruled island is part of China under the “One China principle”. Taiwan is now recognised by just 15 countries worldwide, four of which are in the Pacific – and the Marshall Islands is one of them. Ten Pacific nations recognise Beijing.
The Marshall Islands has been a crucial component of the United States’ strategic and military presence in the region since World War II. Made up of 1,200 islands scattered across a swathe of ocean the size of Mexico, the Marshall Islands forms part of an area China calls the “second island chain”, where control of the surrounding waters is a central goal for Beijing’s defence projection in the Pacific.
The election raises the possibility that current President Hilda Heine could be unseated by an opposition which favours closer ties with Beijing.
Last week’s polls for the first time barred non-resident Marshall Islands citizens – roughly one in three of the nation’s 53,000 people – from voting by post, dramatically reducing the number of voters. In previous elections, postal votes accounted for nearly 60 per cent of ballots.
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