"Disappointing": US After Nauru Switches Ties From Taiwan To China

In a diplomatic blow to Taiwan, South Pacific nation Nauru unexpectedly announced Monday it was severing ties with Taiwan and establishing them with China.

The United States has expressed disappointment in tiny South Pacific nation Nauru for switching diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China, while a de-facto US envoy to Taipei criticised its "distorted" rationale. 

Self-ruled Taiwan held a crucial poll Saturday, with voters electing pro-sovereignty candidate Lai Ching-te as the island's next president.  

China -- which considers Taiwan part of its territory and has never renounced the use of force to seize it -- regards Lai as a dangerous "separatist" and had warned he would bring "war and decline" to the island.