Taiwan's foreign ministry has issued a strong protest after Botswana backed Beijing's "one China" line, a setback for Taipei's push to hold its ground diplomatically.

• Botswana and China signed a partnership agreement in which Botswana reaffirmed the "one China" principle and backed Beijing's reading of a 1971 UN resolution on China's seat.
• Taiwan called the language false and said Beijing has never ruled Taiwan, so the two sides are not subordinate to each other.
• Taipei accused Beijing of using these bilateral statements as information warfare to change the status quo one country at a time.
• The deal came after Botswana's president met Xi Jinping in Beijing during a week-long visit.
• Taiwan warned Botswana not to follow Beijing blindly and said the move is a threat to regional peace.

Outlook: Beijing will keep pressing other governments to write the same wording into joint statements, and Taiwan will keep objecting each time.