Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has purportedly announced new restrictions on chip and related high-tech component exports to South Africa, after Pretoria moved to unilaterally downgrade Taiwan’s representative office in the country and evict that office from the capital.

In July, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei condemned the downgrade as a violation of a three-decade-old diplomatic agreement to respect the representative office. It further rejected South Africa’s invocation of a United Nations (UN) resolution and the “One China” policy as “erroneous and misleading.”

A document purportedly from MOEA, seen by The Common Sense, reads in part: “The actions of the South African government have endangered national security and posed a threat to public safety. To safeguard national sovereignty, security, and the normal development of trade and economy, trade restriction measures have been adopted.”

The move by Taiwan could complicate South Africa’s diplomatic manoeuvring, with President Cyril Ramaphosa currently in New York for a UN meeting, on the sidelines of which he is due to meet senior American leaders to finalise a limited trade and tariff deal for South Africa.