Taiwan to close Papua New Guinea office, blames Chinese pressure - Nikkei Asia

TAIPEI (Reuters) -- Taiwan said on Friday it had decided to shut its representative office in Papua New Guinea and stop buying liquefied natural gas from the country, blaming Chinese pressure.

Taiwan's foreign ministry said Papua New Guinea, which briefly had diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1999, had repeated previous demands that staff leave its office in Port Moresby within a set deadline and had pushed for its closure.

Papua New Guinea's actions "reflect China's continued use of political pressure and economic influence to interfere in other countries' diplomatic decisions and suppress Taiwan's international space," the foreign ministry added in a statement.