Taiwan withdrew out of The 2026 Our Ocean Conference (OOC) took place on June 16 in Mombasa, Kenya, after two Taiwanese delegates were denied entry to the conference and later detained by authorities for over 20 hours. Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ocean Affairs Council sentenced the Kenyan government for giving in to diplomatic pressure from Beijing. This event is another example of China’s increasing campaign to obstruct Taiwan’s international participation.
Taiwan has been an invited participant at the OOC, which first took place in 2014, since 2015. However, Kenya, the host country of the 2026 conference, took an unprecedented step and blocked Taiwan’s participation.
According to the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was discovered that the “Taiwan” option in the participation application system was removed in April this year. Subsequently, some members of the team were denied electronic visas. The delegates then arrived in Kenya in June but were refused entry on the grounds that their Taiwanese passports would not be recognized. The delegates arrived later violently arrested detained for over 20 hours with their passports and phones confiscated. Finally, the delegates returned to Taiwan after their release.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ocean Affairs Council complained about China’s political pressure behind such an incident. In the statement, they condemned Kenya’s decision to bow to pressure and China’s continued suppression of Taiwan’s international participation.
Similar policy measures have been taken, particularly in the recent past The interruption the diplomatic visit of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te to Eswatini. President Lai’s visit was originally scheduled for April 22. However, three African countries – Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar – revoked overflight permits without warning, delaying Lai’s visit. In response to the disruption, the United States House of Representatives Special Committee on China later published a post on X denouncing the Chinese government’s pressure on the three countries to block Lai’s visit. In an April 21st opinionThe Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) also condemned China’s isolation of Taiwan.
Samir Bhattacharya, researcher from the Indian think tank, Observer Research Foundationnoted in one interview that China is using political pressure and economic motives to systematically hinder Taiwan’s international participation. He warns that measures such as restricting overflight permits are proving to be a new and dangerous approach for such purposes.
Particularly noteworthy is China’s influence on African countries. International projects – like that Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and the Belt and Road Initiative—have strengthened relations between China and African nations and consolidated China’s economic influence in Africa. Eswatini, Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in Africa, is therefore excluded from FOCAC and the Belt and Road Initiative. As Bhattacharya notes, this has profoundly shaped the way other African countries perceive their relations with Taiwan.
China has repeatedly sought to marginalize Taiwan in the world, from pressuring other nations to cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan to banning Taiwan’s participation in international forums and organizations, including the United Nations and the World Health Organization. With Taiwan’s forced withdrawal from the OOC in 2026, this geopolitical strategy shows no signs of abating.
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