South African government has given Taiwan untilthe end of March to relocate the island’s de facto embassy outside of the capital city Pretoria.

Taiwanese Foreign Ministry announced this in a statement and blamed Chinese pressure for the move.

It said the demand “shows China’s suppression against Taiwan in South Africa is becoming more serious”, but added that negotiations between Taiwan and South Africa were ongoing.

South Africa severed official diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1997 and maintains very close relations with China, which views the democratically governed island as Chinese territory with no right to the trappings of a state.