Advantage, Beijing.(foreign relations in competition with Taiwan)(Brief Article)

The tiny Polynesian nation of Tuvalu hardly seems like a place roiling with international intrigue. A necklace of nine atolls strung across the South Pacific, the country has just 10,000 inhabitants, 10 miles of dry land and a lone airstrip that, aside from twice-weekly flights from Fiji, is used primarily as a football field. So when a chartered jet made an unexpected stop there last year, it was only natural that locals flocked to the airstrip to gape at their visitors: nine mainland Chinese officials in white shirts and rumpled suits.

The men brushed aside immigration officers and headed directly to a special banquet hosted by the minister of Trade and Tourism. Their promises to bring tens of millions of dollars in mainland Chinese aid, investment and tourism seemed to make everybody happy--except for the bespectacled Taiwanese diplomat lurking in the shadow of a nearby palm tree. "This is a provocation," he fumed later. "Beijing is trying to buy this country's allegiance."

It wouldn't be the first time. Beijing and Taipei have often accused each other of the most cynical--and laughable--acts of "checkbook diplomacy," and they have both been right. But the diplomatic war over the world's tiniest countries has swung in favor of mainland China. And recession-weary Taiwan--a "renegade province," in the eyes of Beijing-- is wondering whether it is worth fighting anymore. Only 27 countries still have full diplomatic relations with Taiwan, most of them small developing-world nations whose principal value is a vote--and a voice-- in the United Nations. But in September, Taiwan failed once again in its increasingly futile bid to become a member of the world body. And it had one vote fewer than last year: Nauru, Tuvalu's bankrupt South Pacific neighbor, switched allegiance in July after Taipei declined to increase its aid--and Beijing promised a $60 million grant and much more. The People's Daily trumpeted the island's defection on the front page as a "milestone in the history of bilateral ties."

With each defection, the price of loyalty gets steeper for Taiwan. Since Nauru flipped, Taiwanese officials say several allies have approached them looking for more money. Critics say Taiwan is only sowing what it has reaped. In 1997 it spent tens of millions of dollars winning over the African nations of Chad, Liberia and So Tome and Principe. The next year China returned the favor by ...