PORT MORESBY (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence met with Taiwan’s envoy to the APEC summit, Morris Chang, on the sidelines of a business forum on Saturday in Port Moresby, according to a media report.

The report, from a journalist attending the summit with Pence, did not provide any details.

Despite Taiwan’s lack of diplomatic recognition by the vast majority of countries, APEC allows the island to participate as a separate economic, rather than political, entity.

The United States has no formal relations with Taiwan, but is bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself and is its strongest international backer.