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Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian left on a diplomatic trip to Palau and the Solomon Islands on Jan. 27 in an effort to head off a Chinese diplomatic offensive against Taipei. In recent months, Vanuatu and Grenada, two countries that had formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, switched their allegiances to Beijing. Although neither Palau nor the Solomon Islands has intimated that it would do the same, Chen is just making sure they remain firmly in Taipei's camp.
Taiwan currently has formal diplomatic relations with only 26 countries, mostly in the South Pacific and Caribbean. Beijing's long-standing policy of not recognizing any country that has formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan has prevented Taipei from breaking out of its international political isolation.
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