The foreign ministry says that the Somalian government’s “one Somalia principle” is equally ridiculous as Beijing’s “one China principle”. That’s as Taiwan begins the work of establishing unofficial ties with Somaliland, a self-declared nation that broke away from Somaliland in 1991.
Taiwan opened a representative office on Monday. Somaliland. Somaliland has reciprocated by sending a representative of its own to Taipei, although it remains unclear when Somaliland will set up a full-fledged office in Taiwan.
The Somalian government objected when Taiwan and Somaliland began discussing the establishment of unofficial ties and opening up representative offices in each side. According to the Somali government, this erodes Somalia’s territory as a nation and damages its sovereignty.
On Thursday, foreign ministry spokesperson Joanne Ou said that the Somali government’s “one Somalia principle” is “very familiar to the Taiwanese people,” comparing it to Beijing's stance that Taiwan is part of its territory.
Ou said that since Somaliland’s 1991 declaration of independence during the Somali Civil War, the nation has become a stable democracy, having held three democratic presidential elections so far.
Ou also said that the Taiwanese government will continue to build a mutually beneficial and reciprocal relationship with Somalia.
Ou also said that other countries including the UK, Denmark, Ethiopia, and Canada have set up their own representative offices in Somaliland. She said that this is something that neither China nor Somalia has the right to interfere in.