MOGADISHU, Somalia (HornPost) China’s Embassy in Somalia has condemned remarks by Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, known as Irro, concerning Taiwan during his visit to the United States, escalating a long-running diplomatic dispute over Somaliland’s ties with Taipei.
In a statement issued Sept. 16, the embassy said Somaliland’s regional authorities had “blatantly violated” the one-China principle and seriously infringed on China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It said Beijing “resolutely opposes and severely condemns” the remarks.
The statement followed Irro’s U.S. visit, including his Sept. 14 appearance at the Hudson Institute in Washington. At the event, Irro promoted Somaliland as a strategic partner for the United States in the Horn of Africa and called for wider international engagement with Hargeisa.
The Chinese Embassy did not explicitly name the Hudson Institute event. However, it referred to remarks about Taiwan made by the Somaliland leader in the United States, linking its response to comments made during Irro’s Washington visit.
President Irro defended the continuation of Somaliland’s relationship with Taiwan, whose representative office has operated in Hargeisa since 2020 despite Beijing’s opposition. He said Taiwan’s office would remain.
“We have decided Taiwan to remain,” Irro said during his Washington visit, adding that Somaliland’s foreign relations should not be dictated by outside powers.
President Irro also said Chinese investment would be welcome if it came without political conditions, seeking to present Somaliland’s position as open to economic engagement while rejecting Beijing’s demand that it cut official ties with Taiwan.
China maintains that Taiwan is an inseparable part of its territory and that the government in Beijing is the sole legal government representing all of China. In its statement, the embassy said Taiwan “has never been a country and will never be a country,” and warned that crossing what it described as the line on Taiwan would bring serious consequences.
The embassy also repeated Beijing’s position on Somaliland, saying the territory is an inseparable part of Somalia. China said it firmly supports Somalia’s federal government in safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity and opposes any attempt to divide Somali territory.
A clash of two sovereignty disputes
The dispute reflects the overlap of two unresolved political questions: China’s claim over Taiwan and Somalia’s claim over Somaliland.
Somaliland declared restored independence from Somalia in 1991 after the collapse of Somalia’s central government. It has since developed its own governing institutions, security forces, currency and electoral system, but it has not secured broad international recognition as a sovereign state.
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, has a self-governing administration, military and democratic political system. Beijing considers it part of China and opposes any official relationship between Taiwan and governments or authorities that it believes could strengthen Taiwan’s international standing.
For China, Somaliland’s decision to maintain a representative office relationship with Taiwan is therefore not simply a bilateral matter. Beijing sees the relationship as a challenge to the one-China principle and as an effort by Taiwan to expand its international diplomatic space.
For Somaliland, the Taiwan relationship has offered a rare avenue for international cooperation. Since the two sides established ties in 2020, they have cooperated in areas including health, agriculture, education, information technology and security-related training.
President Irro remarks indicate that his government intends to preserve that relationship while seeking new investment and security partnerships with the United States and other countries. His U.S. visit focused heavily on Somaliland’s location near the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea shipping corridor, as well as the potential strategic value of Berbera port and airport.
Regional implications
China’s statement also signals continued support for the Federal Government of Somalia at a time when the question of Somaliland’s international status has gained renewed attention.
Mogadishu rejects Somaliland’s claim to independence and regards the territory, its ports and its natural resources as part of Somalia. Beijing’s support for Somalia’s territorial integrity aligns with that position and strengthens the diplomatic pressure on Hargeisa over its Taiwan ties.
The latest exchange is unlikely to immediately change Somaliland’s relationship with Taiwan. But it underlines the geopolitical pressure surrounding Hargeisa’s search for recognition, especially as Somaliland seeks closer engagement with Washington and other international partners.
For now, Irro’s position and Beijing’s response show that Taiwan will remain one of the most sensitive issues in relations between China, Somalia and Somaliland.
Prepared by:
HornPost staff
www.hornpost.com
