South Pacific Island Nations’ Diplomatic Choice between Taiwan and China─Case Studies of Nauru, Kiribati and Vanuatu

• Main Authors: Wei Chang, 張瑋
• Other Authors: none
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2012
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/12934987837291995261

碩士 === 東吳大學 === 政治學系 === 100 === South pacific island nations play important roles in cross-Strait diplomatic competition for a long time. Owing to the political conflicts between China and Taiwan, south pacific island nations get more interests by means of changing their diplomatic recognition. Focusing on the south pacific island nations’ domestic political factors, the influence of the parliament on island nations’ diplomatic choice is noteworthy. Moreover, Australia may have the greatest influence on island nations because it is the largest donor in the south pacific, its view on cross-Strait diplomatic competition also has a considerable influence on island nations’ diplomatic choice. This thesis will start from the point of view of the south pacific island nations to study the factors which influence on island nations’ choice when they face the diplomatic competition between China and Taiwan. In this thesis, the first step is to generalize the diplomatic relation history and current status between Taiwan and China with the south pacific island nations respectively. This thesis also discusses China, Taiwan and Australia’s policies and standpoints toward the south pacific, it includes, for example, the influence on a diplomatic truce between Taiwan and China after President Ma Ying-Jeou took office in 2008, and China changed its aid mode to island nations since 2005. Then, this thesis will conduct case studies of Nauru, Kiribati and Vanuatu to discuss the degree of influence when these island nations make diplomatic choices in three variables: personal and national interests, domestic political factors and external power factors. It is found from this thesis that in the cases of Nauru, Kiribati and Vanuatu, the greatest influence variable is personal and national interests, domestic political factors is secondary, and external power factors have significant influence only in Vanuatu case. These case studies may not represent all the south pacific island nations, but expecting generalize those three variables could become the standard of interpretation when we observe the island nations’ diplomatic choice in the future.