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Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland hit out at Mogadishu for banning Taiwan passport-holders from entering or traveling through the East African country.
The move by Somalia came days ahead of a planned visit by the Taiwanese foreign minister to Somaliland. Mogadishu also criticized the “unauthorized” establishment of a Taiwan Representative Office in the Somaliland capital Hargeisa. But Somaliland, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991 and is seeking recognition from the international community, said on Thursday that Mogadishu’s statement was “baseless” and threatened regional stability.
On Wednesday Beijing, which claims the self-governing island of Taiwan as part of its territory, said: “Taiwan independence separatists blatantly engages in secessionist movement in Somaliland region, which seriously threatens Chinese sovereignty.” Somaliland leaders remain hopeful that the Trump administration will move toward possibly recognizing the region as an independent country, as Semafor first reported last year.