Lawmakers of the South Pacific nation of Tuvalu announced on Monday (Feb. 26) that they have unanimously elected former attorney-general Feleti Teo as its new prime minister.
The 16-seat parliament elected Teo after the previous prime minister, Kausea Natano, lost his seat in a general election last January, which was closely monitored by Taiwan, China, the United States, and Australia amid geopolitical tension for influence in the region.
Two of the MPs told Reuters that Teo received unanimous support from all their colleagues.
"It is the first time in our history that a Prime Minister has been nominated unopposed," one of the MPs, Simon Kofe, said.
Educated in New Zealand and Australia, Teo was a veteran politician who has long served as an official for Tuvalu's fisheries service and worked with the Pacific Islands Forum before becoming a cabinet official.
"Feleti Teo was declared by the Governor General as Prime Minister for Tuvalu," Tuvalu government secretary Tufoua Panapa said in a statement.
Tuvalu's new ministry would be announced at an oath-taking ceremony for the new government later this week, Panapa added.
The election result in Tuvalu had been delayed by a month due to dangerous weather that prevented boats from bringing the MPs to the capital, Funafuti, highlighting why climate change is the top political issue in the Pacific Islands nation.
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Ties with Taiwan At Risk
Tuvalu is one of only three remaining Pacific island nations that formally recognize Taipei after Nauru cut its ties last month in favor of Beijing after China promised more development help.
According to Taiwan's foreign ministry, the Taiwanese ambassador to Tuvalu, Andrew Lin, expressed the congratulations of outgoing Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen to Two, adding that Deputy Foreign Minister Tien Chung-kwang planned to visit Tuvalu in the near future.
Teo is a friend of Taiwan's and has visited many times, and has said relations are stable and that maintaining ties is the widespread consensus in Tuvalu, the ministry added.
Officials in Taipei previously said it was paying close attention to the general election after Tuvalu's former finance minister Seve Paeniu said that the new government should debate the diplomatic recognition of Taiwan or China.
Teo's position on Taiwan ties and the Australian security and migration pact has not been made public as of writing.
Some lawmakers were also pushing to review a comprehensive deal Tuvalu signed with Australia in November that would allow Canberra to endorse Tuvalu's police, port, and telecommunication cooperation with other nations in return for a defense guarantee, as well as allowing its citizens threatened by rising seas to migrate.
The deal was seen as an effort to curb China's rising influence as an infrastructure provider in the Pacific Islands.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he looked forward to working with Teo.
"Australia deeply values our relationship with Tuvalu, in the spirit of the Falepili Union," he said, referring to the migration pact.
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