Pacific leaders on Friday rejected Beijing-backed calls to sever ties with Taiwan, saying the regional alliance would maintain its decades-old policy.

At an annual meeting in Tonga, the Pacific Islands Forum rejected an attempt by one of its members, an ally of China, to stop treating Taiwan as a development partner, according to AFP.

In a final statement, the bloc’s leaders “reaffirmed” an agreement signed in 1992 that allows talks with Taiwan.
The Pacific Islands Forum is divided between countries that have diplomatic relations with Beijing and others, such as the Marshall Islands, Palau and Tuvalu, that are allies of Taiwan.