SYDNEY, January 15. /TASS/. The government of the Republic of Nauru has announced that it will no longer recognize Taiwan as a separate country and will consider the island an integral part of China, the country's President David Adeang said.

"The Republic of Nauru will no longer recognise the Republic of China [Taiwan] as a separate country but rather as an inalienable part of China's territory, and will sever 'diplomatic relations' with Taiwan as of this day [today] and no longer develop any official relations or official exchanges with Taiwan," he said, pointing out that the decision "is in no way intended to affect our existing warm relationships with other countries."

Adeang also noted that the country’s government "remains focused on moving Nauru forward and this policy change is a significant first step in moving forward with Nauru's development." "Nauru remains a sovereign and independent nation and wants to maintain friendly relations with other countries," he said in a statement posted on the Nauru government's official Facebook (a social media site banned in Russia since it is owned by Meta corporation deemed extremist by the Russian authorities).

Adeang is expected to make a statement on the matter at the next parliament sitting, as well as a nationwide address on local television and radio.

Taiwan has been governed by its own administration since 1949, when the remnants of the Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled there after their defeat in the Chinese Civil War. Since then, Taipei has retained the flag and some other attributes of the former Republic of China which existed on the mainland before the Communists came to power. Official Beijing considers Taiwan a province of the People’s Republic of China, and this position is backed by numerous countries, including Russia.