TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Just two days after Taiwan elected president-elect Lai Ching-te (賴清德), Nauru announced that it is officially severing diplomatic relations with Taiwan in favor of China.

At 2 p.m. Monday (Jan. 15), the government of Nauru said that "in the best interests of the Republic and people of Nauru," it will follow the "one-China" principle and resume diplomatic ties with China. Nauru will no longer recognize Taiwan as a separate country but consider it an "inalienable part of China's territory," it said.

The change takes effect immediately and will put a complete end to all official relations and exchanges with Taiwan. This is the condition from China with Taiwan's diplomatic allies that switch to Beijing.

The Nauru government said this would not affect its "existing warm relationship" with other countries, and the move was meant to act as a "significant first step in moving forward with Nauru's development."

Nauru and Taiwan first established diplomatic relations in 1980, but Nauru switched ties to China in 2002. In 2005, the Micronesian island country cut ties with Beijing and reestablished relations with Taiwan.

The loss of Nauru leaves Taiwan with only 12 diplomatic allies, including the Marshall Islands, Palau, and Tuvalu in the Asia-Pacific region; Eswatini in Africa; the Holy See in Europe; Belize, Guatemala, and Paraguay in Latin America; and Haiti, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the Caribbean.