The men's tournament is due to take place in Damascus from August 12 to 20 but travel complications during the ongoing Syrian civil war have led to the withdrawal.

"Since the venue of the 2023 FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament was announced in Syria, the association and relevant units continued to pay attention to the situation in the country, because there are still security concerns in the host city Damascus in recent days," read a Chinese Taipei Basketball Association statement.

"The team can only enter from neighbouring countries to Damascus by means of vehicle connection to Damascus in Syria.

"Based on the priority of the safety of the team members, it was decided not to participate in this competition.

"Despite the uncertainty of participation, the Olympic qualifying team still conducted two weeks of intensive training to prepare for the event, but due to the safety concerns of going to the competition city, the team returned home after completing the stage of training."

The Chinese Taipei men's basketball team has only ever competed at the Olympics on three occasions - Berlin 1934, London 1948, and Melbourne 1956.

The latter saw its best finish of 11^th place.

They have fared better at the Asian Championships, however, winning silver in 1960 and 1963 before bronze medals followed in 1973 and 1989. 

As it stands, Indonesia, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, and India are set to compete with Syria.

The event is one of five Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournaments for the men's event at Paris 2024.

Argentina, Nigeria, and Turkey are the other confirmed hosts for their continents, while both Poland and Estonia are due to welcome European teams.

The winners of each competition will then earn places in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments due to take place next year before the Games.

Unrest in Syria began in March 2011 out of discontent with the country's Government which eventually escalated to an armed conflict after protests calling for President Bashar al-Assad were violently suppressed.