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‘Born free’: Somaliland says China can’t dictate to it over Taiwan

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China cannot dictate who Somaliland can have relations with as it was a sovereign nation and “born free”, the foreign minister of the breakaway Somali region said on Friday during a trip to Taiwan which has been condemned by Beijing.

Somaliland broke away from Somalia in 1991 but has not gained widespread international recognition for its independence. The region has been mostly peaceful while Somalia has grappled with three decades of civil war.

Somaliland and Taiwan, claimed by China as its own territory and likewise diplomatically isolated, set up representative offices in each other’s capitals in 2020, angering Beijing and Mogadishu.

Strategically situated on the Horn of Africa, Somaliland borders Djibouti, where China maintains its first ever overseas military base.

China’s Foreign Ministry said this week Taiwan was “fanning the flames to undermine the independence and unification of other countries, harming others without benefiting themselves” by hosting a senior ministerial delegation from Somaliland.

Speaking to reporters, Somaliland Foreign Minister Essa Kayd said China cannot dictate to his country.

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