Photos: PolGeoNow's 2022 Visit to the Somaliland Office in Taiwan

Important Note: PolGeoNow does not take any position on whether Taiwan or Somaliland should be diplomatically recognized as independent countries, and does not take sides in the disputes they have with the governments of Somalia and China. During our visit to the Somaliland office in Taipei, we made clear to all parties that we were there strictly for neutral journalistic purposes. PolGeoNow has continued to report freely on developments both favorable and unfavorable to the self-declared Somaliland government in the time since our visit.

East Africa's self-proclaimed Republic of Somaliland has an embassy-like representative office in the East Asian city of Taipei, semi-official capital of Taiwan. Somaliland and Taiwan are not accepted as independent countries by the United Nations (UN) - but neither are they controlled by the UN member countries that claim to have authority over them (Somalia and China respectively).

All photos by PolGeoNow

Map modified by PolGeoNow from graphic by Wikimedia user Addicted04 (CC BY-SA)

As part of PolGeoNow's mission to report neutrally on the realities of world geography, we're especially interested in so-called "de facto states" - places that are governed like independent countries, but aren't openly accepted as independent by most other governments. And in August 2022, we were lucky enough to visit an unusual site linking two prominent examples of such unrecognized countries: Somaliland and Taiwan. While in Taipei, Taiwan's semi-official capital, we were invited to visit the representative office of the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, and to meet its head diplomat at the time, Mohamed Hagi.

We reported on our 2022 visit soon afterwards with a thread on Twitter (now X)*, and today we're publishing this more complete account for future reference and historical interest. 

*We're now also active on Mastodon, BlueSky, and Threads 

Taiwan Loses "Recognition" from Two Pacific Allies (Map)

You can always find the latest version of this map, and a list of all related articles, on our Which Countries "Recognize" Taiwan? page.

Click to enlarge. By Evan Centanni, modified from public domain blank world map.
Contact us for permission to use this map.

Map: Which Countries "Recognize" Taiwan in 2019?

This map and explainer will be updated whenever there's a change to the list of Taiwan's "diplomatic allies". You can find articles on each change by scrolling to the bottom of this page, or by viewing all Taiwan articles on PolGeoNow.

Click to enlarge. By Evan Centanni, modified from public domain blank world map.
Contact us for permission to use this map.

Is Taiwan a Country?

At PolGeoNow we frequently report on self-proclaimed, unrecognized or partially-recognized countries - but Taiwan is a special case. It operates like an independent country today, but has never formally declared independence. Instead, Taiwan and its surrounding islands govern themselves as the "Republic of China" (ROC), under a constitution brought there by a former government of the Chinese mainland.

Taiwan Loses "Recognition" from El Salvador (Map)

You can always find the latest version of this map, and a list of all related articles, on our Which Countries Recognize Taiwan? page.

Click to enlarge. By Evan Centanni, modified from public domain blank world map.
Contact us for permission to use this map.

Taiwan Loses Recognition from Dominican Republic, Burkina Faso (Map)

You can always find the latest version of this map, and a list of all related articles, on our Which Countries Recognize Taiwan? page.

Click to enlarge. By Evan Centanni, modified from public domain blank world map.

Panama Recognizes China, Stops Recognizing Taiwan (Map)

There are newer versions of this map available. You can always find the latest version, and a list of all related articles, on our Which Countries Recognize Taiwan? page.

Click to enlarge. By Evan Centanni, modified from public domain blank world map.

Japan-China Dispute: The Eight Islands of the Senkaku/Diaoyu Group (Aerial Photos)

Map of the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands (by Evan Centanni). Click to view at full size.

Article by Evan Centanni

The Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands
A recent feature on Political Geography Now introduced the history and status of the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, a disputed territory controlled by Japan but claimed by China and Taiwan. The article included an original map which showed the isles' configuration and precise location within the East China Sea (click on the map at right to see it at full size). But if you're like me, you may be wondering "just how small are these islands, and what do they really look like?"

Disputed Territory: The Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands

You may have heard the news about China and Japan's ongoing territorial dispute over a group of islands in the East China Sea. But what are the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, and why are they so fiercely contested? Read on for all these answers and more!

Map of the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands (by Evan Centanni).

Article by Omar Alkhalili

About the Islands
The Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands are a collection of five small islets and three rocks in the East China Sea, all of which are uninhabited. The largest of the islands has an area of 4.32 km² and the smallest is only 0.45 km². They are located about 140 km from the nearest inhabited Japanese islands, 300 km from mainland China and 170 km from Taiwan. They are administered by Japan but claimed by both the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Taiwan, whose government is known officially as the Republic of China (ROC).

Partner Project: Range of Taiwan's Missiles

Click to see at full size on Taiwan in Perspective blog.
Map by Evan Centanni (all rights reserved).

Michal Thim from Taiwan in Perspective recently asked Political Geography Now to help him make a map depicting Taiwan's current and future missile capabilities in its standoff with China. For anyone who's interested, here's the finished product (click on the map to see it at full size on Michal's site). The main sources for the missile information was this article from Defense News, and the locations of China's military assets come from the U.S. Department of Defense's 2012 annual report on China.

If you want to learn more about the complex political situation in Taiwan, Wikipedia has a decent outline of the basics. Political Geography Now also hopes to publish maps and articles covering Taiwan in the future.