TAIPEI (Kyodo) -- Taiwan's Foreign Ministry has recently added the flags of Japan and other democracies to its main foyer -- previously reserved for the island's 12 diplomatic allies -- to show solidarity against authoritarianism, a senior official said.

Along with Japan's, the flags of Group of Seven and Indo-Pacific democracies -- the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand and India -- now decorate the indoor area.

"Taiwan's diplomacy is not limited to formal diplomatic relations. Our economic prosperity and modernization stem from our engagement with the world," Deputy Foreign Minister Francois Wu said in a Facebook post.

The addition of the flags demonstrates Taiwan's "determination to counter the threat of authoritarianism together with like-minded countries," he added.

At present, Taiwan has official diplomatic relations with 12 countries, including Paraguay, Guatemala and the Vatican, as well as the Pacific nations of Tuvalu, Palau and the Marshall Islands.

Communist-led China claims the self-ruled island as its "inalienable" territory. The two sides have been governed separately since splitting in 1949 due to a civil war.