China warned of 'consequences' for Taiwan after officials from Beijing and Taipei attended a ceremonial event at the Pacific Islands Forum summit in Koror, Palau, which opened on Monday. The forum's 18 member states and territories do not include China, the United States, or Taiwan. However, the summit's host, a western Pacific island nation near the Philippines, saw expectations of geopolitical theatre because of ongoing battles for influence over the region's oceans and strategically important locations. Major powers had been urged to avoid turning the gathering of mostly small island countries into a geopolitical sideshow, a concern that threatened to overshadow the summit's agenda.