An officer with Tuvalu's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr Jessica Marinaccio told RNZ Pacific that Tuvalu's Foreign Minister Simon Kofe was already en route to the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, for the summit on scaling up actions to protect the world's ocea
But Dr Marinaccio said China blocked the credentials of three Taiwanese participants on Tuvalu's delegation list.
The Foreign Minister made a decision to return and will land in Brisbane on Monday nighttime instead of Lisbon.
The UN Oceans Conference is hosted by the governments of Kenya and Portugal and around two dozen heads of state and governments are expected to attend the event taking place from 27 June to 1 July.
Representatives from 193 countries will also be joining the conference, including 938 civil society groups, 75 foundations, and 74 universities.
Photo file Photo by EyePress News / EyePress via AFP Caption: Tuvalu's Foreign Minister Simon Kofe