in a new diplomatic tussle between Taiwan and mainland China, Honduras has announced that it could do without the self-governing island to establish official relations with Beijing. It is the latest Latin American country to lean in favor of the Asian country, a decision that has prompted Taipei to urge Tegucigalpa to carefully consider its position and warn the country that “don’t fall into the China trap”.
The Honduran President Xiomara Castro, which had promised to strengthen ties with Beijing during its electoral campaign in 2021 to later back down, has instructed its foreign minister to begin the process of establishing formal relations with the Asian giant. The measure is “a sign of my determination to comply with the government plan and freely expand the borders,” the leader stressed in a statement posted on Twitter on Tuesday.
The Relations between Honduras and Taiwan date back to 1941. The Central American nation was one of the last diplomatic allies of Taiwan, a small group of mostly island countries that Taipei has been trying to sustain with aid and investment programs.
The Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its deep concern to the Honduran government and urged it to reconsider its decision carefully and not “fall into the trap set by China.”
“Taiwan is a sincere and reliable ally. Our country has always helped Honduras in its national development to the extent of our possibilities,” the ministry said in a statement. “China’s only objective in developing relations with this country is to reduce the international space of our territory, has no sincere intentions of cooperating for the good of the Honduran people”.
If the decision goes ahead, it will leave Taiwan with formal diplomatic ties with only 13 countries. In fact, Costa Rica (2007), Panama (2017), El Salvador (2018) and Nicaragua (2021) They are others of those who have broken relations with the island in recent times. Since 2016, Beijing has stripped Taipei of eight allies diplomats, a form of punishment for the Tsai administration’s refusal to recognize the 1992 Consensus, a modus vivendi reached between both parties. Shortly after Nicaragua decided to embrace Beijing, the Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, le yuchengannounced that “it is only a matter of time” before the island territory runs out of partners.
For its part, Beijing has not yet commented, but the Chinese ambassador to Mexico has, Zhang Run, who tweeted that the “One China” principle, which holds that both territories are part of a single nation, is the consensus of the international community. “Congratulations Honduras for this correct decision to embrace that principle! Let’s hope it is fulfilled,” Zhang declared.
The announcement comes before the tour planned by the president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing Wento Central America next month, where he is expected to visit Guatemala and Belize.
Thus, the diplomatic wrestling game between Beijing and Taipei has become much more prominent than ever in Central and Latin America, especially after the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of China, where relations with Taiwan were at the top of their game. his political agenda.
China has managed to attract a number of Central American and Caribbean countries that were Taiwan’s partners in the past five years. The Asian giant does not allow the nations with which it maintains diplomatic relations to maintain official ties with the democratic island, which it claims as its own territory without the right to state-to-state ties.
However, the Honduran opposition deputy Thomas Zambrano He told local television that the decision would likely affect the country’s relationship with the US, its main trading partner, noting that many families depend on remittances from the north.
Washington does not maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan.but it is its main international sponsor and arms supplier, a constant source of friction in Sino-US relations.
It should be noted that the lightning visit of the former president of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, to Taiwan in 2022 wreaked havoc. It was the second of its kind since Washington cut diplomatic ties with Taipei in 1979, and the first in 25 years. This unusual trip not only prompted unprecedented responses from stakeholders in the Taiwanese issue, but also prompted politicians from other liberal democracies to make their mark on the territory.
“Unofficial Diplomacy”
Under the Tsai administration, the actions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs seem to indicate that Taipei is reorienting its strategy to emphasize “backstage diplomacy”. On the one hand, it is taking advantage of the dominant Taiwanese semiconductor industry to echo the “Chip 4 Alliance” of the American supply chain. On the other hand, he has welcomed visits from politicians from unofficial partner countries, sparked by Pelosi’s trip. Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the island has further promoted its “values-oriented diplomacy” towards EU countries, emphasizing the region’s strategic value as the front line of liberal democracies against the expansion of authoritarian powers.
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