Taiwan has signed a mutual legal assistance deal with Eswatini, a modest but concrete win for Taipei's shrinking circle of diplomatic allies.

• President Lai Ching-te and Eswatini's King Mswati III oversaw the signing in Taipei.
• The two countries can now share evidence, serve documents, run searches and seizures, freeze and confiscate assets, and swap criminal records.
• Investigators on both sides can question people by video link, cutting the time and cost of gathering evidence across borders.
• The main targets are cross-border phone scams, money laundering and organized crime — a growing problem for Taiwan.
• It is Taiwan's 18th such agreement and its first foothold for criminal justice cooperation in Africa, five months after a similar treaty with Paraguay.

Outlook: Expect Taipei to keep using legal and police cooperation deals to shore up ties with its few remaining allies while chasing scam networks operating overseas.