“As long as the DPP is in power, sooner or later Taiwan will have zero diplomatic allies left,” it said. “Only by first improving cross-strait mutual trust can Taiwan open up its ‘international space’. If the Tsai administration still refuses to come to its senses, then there will only be more ‘diplomatic crises’ to come.”

After a month of deliberation, the Solomon Islands, Taiwan’s biggest ally in the Pacific, ended 36 years of diplomatic relations with Taipei on Monday, leaving Taiwan with 16 formal allies.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Tuesday that by recognising Beijing the Solomons would have unprecedented development opportunities.

“We believe that the establishment and development of diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China, with more than 1.4 billion people and the world’s second-largest economy with a bright future, will surely bring unprecedented opportunities for development for the Solomon Islands.”

The switch comes as Taiwan prepares for a presidential election in January, in which Tsai will face Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu, nominated by the mainland-friendly Kuomintang party.

The Solomons is the sixth country to switch recognition from Taipei to Beijing since Tsai was elected president three years ago. The others are El Salvador, Burkina Faso, Sao Tome and Principe, Panama, and the Dominican Republic.

In that time, Beijing has also sought to minimise Taipei’s presence on the international stage by limiting the island’s involvement in international bodies such as the World Health Organisation and the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

Heavy police presence in Solomon Islands as Taiwanese embassy lowers flag for last time

Beijing claims sovereignty over the self-ruled island and blames the deterioration of relations across the Taiwan Strait on Tsai’s refusal to accept the “1992 consensus”, an understanding that there is only one China but either side have their own interpretation of what that is.

The article on Monday said Honiara made its decision despite US warnings last year that Washington would review its relationship with El Salvador after it made the diplomatic switch.

“Interestingly, this vote came as Taiwan sought foreign aid, with the United States showing partiality in its mediation of the situation,” it said.

“The result was, what was meant to happen still happened ... In the climate where the one-China principle is part of the international consensus, there is no use trying to reverse the trend.”

The article also urged the Taiwanese people to “re-evaluate” the DPP in the 2020 election.

Amid a year-long trade war and a broader strategic rivalry with Beijing, Washington has spoken out in support of Taiwan – with which it has a mutual defence treaty. It has also agreed to sell arms to the island and conducted freedom of navigation exercises through the Taiwan Strait, prompting anger from Beijing.

US officials tell Solomon Islands not to be pressured into cutting ties with Taiwan in favour of Beijing

Taiwan’s remaining diplomatic allies are mostly smaller countries in the Pacific, the Caribbean, and Central America – including Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Haiti and Palau. Paraguay is the lone Taiwanese ally in South America, eSwatini the only one in Africa, and the Holy See the only formal partner in Europe.

Analysts said that any further loss of diplomatic allies would threaten Taiwan’s sovereignty and ability to take part in international activities.

Former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou, from the KMT, wrote on Facebook on Tuesday that cross-strait issues were at the core of problems and that not even the US would be able to help with them.

“Without the ‘1992 consensus’ across the strait, there is no diplomatic ceasefire, and it will be difficult to stop our diplomatic allies from having a change of heart,” he wrote. “If President Tsai does not come to her senses and only knows how to condemn the mainland without looking at herself, then she can only go into history as the ‘broken diplomacy’ president.”