China Power | Diplomacy | East Asia | Oceania

Papua New Guinea Just Closed Taiwan’s Economic Office

Taiwan’s diplomatic space is shrinking along a vital Pacific energy route.

Taiwan’s Economic and Cultural Office in Papua New Guinea hands over a donation of 500 kg of rice to the Catholic Archdiocese of Port Moresby, Dec. 20, 2021.

On July 16, 2026, the foreign minister of Papua New Guinea (PNG), Justin Tkatchenko, abruptly announced the closure of Taiwan’s economic office in Port Moresby. “The physical presence of Chinese Taipei will no longer be recognized or required within the jurisdiction of Papua New Guinea,” the minister said in a statement posted online, using an alternative name for Taiwan.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Lin Jian, quickly welcomed the decision, reinforcing perceptions that Beijing’s growing influence in the Pacific shaped the move.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately rejected the announcement as a unilateral decision made without prior consultation. Taipei also announced that it was reassessing bilateral cooperation and economic exchanges with PNG and had briefed like-minded partners on the dispute. 

The conflicting positions underscore the uncertainty surrounding Taiwan’s diplomatic presence in the Pacific: while PNG has declared the office closed, Taiwan has refused to recognize the decision as settled. The episode illustrates how quickly political access can be curtailed, and how contested and fragile Taiwan’s informal diplomatic relationships in the region have become.

At first glance, the closure appears to be another step in Beijing’s longstanding campaign to constrict Taiwan’s international space. Geographically, however, its significance extends well beyond cross-strait diplomacy. Located immediately north of Australia, Papua New Guinea is both a strategic gateway between Australasia and East Asia and a critical node along maritime routes carrying energy supplies toward Taiwan. The decision therefore foreshadows a broader and increasingly persistent contest between China and regional powers over political access, strategic infrastructure, and maritime corridors in the Pacific.

PNG plays an important role in Taiwan’s energy security and supply diversification. Developed in partnership with U.S. and Australian companies, PNG’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector supplies approximately 1.2 million tonnes per annum to Taiwan, making the country one of Taiwan’s important LNG suppliers, alongside Australia, Qatar, and the United States. 

In 2025, Australia supplied about 38 percent of Taiwan’s LNG imports, while PNG accounted for approximately 6 percent. Together, the two countries provided roughly 44 percent of Taiwan’s LNG, meaning that more than two-fifths of its imports came from suppliers south of the equator.

LNG shipments from the terminal near Port Moresby generally travel northeast through the Coral Sea and western Pacific before approaching Taiwan via the Philippine Sea. Unlike Qatari and other Middle Eastern supplies, which must transit the Strait of Hormuz and often the Malacca Strait or South China Sea, the PNG route avoids several major maritime chokepoints and offers Taiwan a more resilient energy corridor.

Taiwan’s diplomatic exclusion from PNG could gradually........

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