The former attorney general is named the new prime minister following a general election that ousted the island’s pro-Taiwanese leader.

Lawmakers in Tuvalu have named former attorney general Feleti Teo as the Pacific island nation’s new prime minister, weeks after a general election that named the country’s new prime minister Relations with Taiwan in the spotlight.

In a statement on Monday, the Tuvalu government said Teo was the only candidate nominated by his 15 fellow MPs and was declared elected without a vote.

The swearing-in ceremony for Teo and his cabinet will take place later this week.

Teo’s appointment as prime minister comes after his pro-Taiwan predecessor Kausea Natano lost his seat in the election on January 26th.

Natano wanted Tuvalu – home to about 11,200 people – to remain one of only 12 countries that have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, the self-governing island that China claims as its own territory.

Natano’s former finance minister Seve Paeniu, seen as a leadership contender, had said the issue of diplomatic recognition of Taiwan or China should be discussed by the new government.

The comments sparked concern in Taiwan, particularly because Tuvalu’s neighboring state of Nauru recently cut diplomatic ties with Taipei in favor of Beijing, which had promised more development aid.

Some lawmakers in Tuvalu also called for a review of a wide-ranging defense and migration deal signed with Australia in November. The agreement allows Canberra to review Tuvalu’s police, port and telecommunications cooperation with other countries in return for a defense guarantee and allows citizens threatened by rising sea levels to emigrate to Australia.

The deal was seen as an attempt to curb China’s growing influence as an infrastructure provider in the Pacific islands.

Teo’s position on relations with Taiwan and the Australian security and migration pact has not been made public.

Teo, who was educated in New Zealand and Australia, was Tuvalu’s first attorney general and has decades of experience as a senior official in the fishing industry – the region’s largest source of income.

Tuvalu lawmaker Simon Kofe congratulated Teo in a social media post.

“It is the first time in our history that a prime minister has been nominated unopposed,” he said.

The appointment of the new prime minister was delayed by persistent bad weather, which left several MPs stranded on the country’s outer islands and unable to reach the capital.

Jess Marinaccio, an assistant professor of Pacific studies at California State University, told AFP it was too early to say whether Teo would maintain ties with Taiwan.

But international relations would be high on the issue list for Teo’s new government, she said.

“It will definitely be something they will talk about. They also need to select high commissioners and ambassadors so that Taiwan will be there,” she said.

“It will be a high priority alongside climate change and telecommunications as coverage in Tuvalu is not fantastic.”