While
the rest of Africa is running helter-skelter in excitement because of
investment the People’s Republic of China (hereafter referred to as mainland
China) is pouring into Africa, Swaziland has continued to stick to her guns,
and has continued to be a faithful ally of the Republic of China on Taiwan
(hereafter referred to as Taiwan). In fact, Swaziland is one of the few countries
in Africa (others being the Gambia and Burkina Faso) that has diplomatic ties
with Taiwan. And it seems, if Swaziland’s former Foreign Affairs Minister,
Lutfo Dlamini’s words are anything to go by, the relationship is one that is
still going to be around for quite a long time. The minister was quoted in the
media as having described Swaziland’s relationship with Taiwan as, “a marriage
that will not end in a divorce, even if mainland China were to approach the
country”.
But
the question that boggles people’s minds is why Swaziland has continued to
stick by Taiwan’s side when mainland China throws in hundreds of millions of
dollars’ worth of investment and other infrastructural projects in Africa.
There is no easy or definite answer to such a question but one can raise a
series of postulations that seek to understand and explain such a position. The
first one relates to the fact that Taiwan is not necessarily picky when it
comes to its allies in spite of flaunting democratic credentials. It has lost
most of its allies ever since it was kicked out of the United Nations (UN) in
1971, and its seat was handed over to mainland China. Therefore its general
position of not meddling into a country’s local politics, it is argued, has
given the regime of Swaziland one less ally to worry about in as far as
benchmarks such as the respect for human rights and adherence to democracy and
good governance are concerned. Yet a counter argument could be that mainland
too has been known for dealing and supporting despotic regimes so long as her
ends are met, and she too has a questionable human rights record.
Another
reason could be that of the investment that Taiwan has brought to Swaziland
over the past forty-two years or so. Taiwan’s investment in Swaziland over the
decades is estimated at about US $90 million. Also, Taiwan has been involved in
many development projects in the country such as rural electrification, medical
missions working in hospitals and rural clinics. All of these projects have in
a sense impacted the lives of the ordinary people in the rural areas. It is
also said that there are about twenty-five Taiwanese-owned factories in Swaziland—mostly
in the garment sector—employing about fifteen thousand people, mostly women. It
must be noted though, that these companies have time and again been accused of
unfair labour practices and paying the workers starvation wages. Yet even with
this argument, it does not necessarily follow that Swaziland wouldn’t reap the
same benefits—or even more—with a relationship with mainland China.
The
relationship between these two nations is not only one-sided but does have a
dimension of reciprocity to it. Swaziland lobbies for Taiwan’s inclusion in the
UN and in other international and multilateral institutions. Again, the former
Foreign Affairs Minister was quoted as having said: “We are proud of ourselves
that we have always stood by Taiwan, even in the UN. This is why we take pride
that today Taiwan is part of the World Health Organisation (WHO), and this is
our wish that one day Taiwan will be recognised by all the bodies because of
the value and role the people of Taiwan play in the development of the world.
Perhaps
what also influences Swaziland’s stance is its unwillingness to switch sides
from an ally they’ve had cordial dealings with for over four decades, to a
country they’ve absolutely no idea of how it operates, and that is mainland
China. The authorities may fear that in their dealings with mainland China,
they would have to compete with other African countries for investment, of
which they may not be able to secure a large share. But there is another view
that it may not necessarily boil down to choosing between the two countries. It
has been pointed out that the relations between China and Taiwan have been
thawing recently, and therefore Swaziland could have the best of both worlds.
And
indeed, the Swaziland government seems to be open to such a possibility. Asked
by reporters if China has tried to force the country to switch allegiance to
Beijing, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs is supposed to have said:
“…they (China) have yet to approach the country”. He continued to say, “But let
me give this example: When you are young and beautiful, a lot of men want to
marry you, and there is nothing wrong with that.” Another aspect to it maybe
that China doesn’t see Swaziland as that important, from a strategic and
cost-benefit analysis point of view, for her to coax the latter into a
establishing ties with her.
It
must be noted though that having concurrent diplomatic relations with both
China and Taiwan can prove untenable for Swaziland, especially in connection to
her foreign policy stance. Swaziland’s would find herself between a rock and a
hard place, especially between her position of lobbying for Taiwan to be
accepted in the UN and China’s hard line approach of meddling in other states’
foreign policy positions (the case of the Dalai Lama’s denied visit in South
Africa provides a classic example).
It
is for that reason that I am sceptical as to whether Swaziland will be having
any diplomatic relations with China anytime soon, unless of course the is a
major development on the front of China and Taiwan relations.
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