Taiwan's diplomatic allies have formally pressed the UN to find a way to include Taiwan as the General Assembly's annual debate begins — a modest diplomatic win for Taipei, but one Beijing will reject.

• UN ambassadors from Palau, Saint Lucia, the Marshall Islands, Belize, and Saint Vincent jointly delivered a letter to Secretary-General António Guterres asking the UN to take Taiwan's participation request seriously and find an appropriate way to admit it.
• The letter also backs Taiwan's efforts to keep the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and calls on the UN to uphold its ban on the use of force and push member states to prevent conflict.
• The push runs up against UN Resolution 2758 from 1971, which gave China's seat to Beijing and expelled the Republic of China's representatives — Beijing uses it to block any Taiwan role.
• Taiwan's argument is that being shut out undercuts the UN's "leave no one behind" pledge and this year's debate theme of a UN that serves everyone.

Outlook: Expect Taiwan's allies to raise the issue again during the debate speeches, with no change to Taiwan's exclusion likely given China's veto-level influence at the UN.