Honduras formalizes severing diplomatic ties with Taiwan to link up with China

Honduras announced this Saturday the severing of diplomatic relations with Taiwantherefore, he will no longer have any official contact with the island, 11 days after the announcement that he will seek to establish ties with China.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Enrique Reina “on behalf of the President of the Republic [Xiomara Castro]informed Taiwan of the decision to sever diplomatic relations between the two countries,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The announcement comes two days after Reina traveled to Beijing to discuss the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations, which was promoted by Honduran President Xiomara Castro.

Shortly thereafter, Taiwan’s foreign ministry said that “President Castro and her government team have illusions about China” that “he is not ceasing his attempts to lure Honduras with financial stimulus.”

“One China”

In accordance with the One China principle, Beijing does not allow any country to maintain diplomatic relations with Taipei at the same time.

On his Twitter account, Castro posted on March 14 that he had instructed Reina to organize the opening of “official” relations with China.

<<The Government of the Republic of Honduras recognizes the existence of a single China in the world and that the government of the People’s Republic of China is the only legitimate government representing all of China,” the Honduras Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

“Taiwan constitutes an integral part of Chinese territory, and from that date, the government of Honduras informed Taiwan of the severing of diplomatic relations, promising to no longer have any official relations or contacts with Taiwan,” he added.

The Foreign Ministry’s statement was released in Tegucigalpa while Castro is attending the Dominican Republic’s Ibero-American Summit.

thirteen countries

Taiwan called its ambassador to Tegucigalpa for consultations on Thursday as part of the Central American country’s diplomatic pivot toward Beijing.

“Honduras has ignored more than 80 years of friendship by sending its foreign minister to China, which has caused serious damage to the feelings of our government and our people,” Taiwan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

After Castro’s first statement, Taipei warned Honduras “do not fall into the Chinese debt trap”, for intending to improve relations with Beijing because of its economic “needs”.

Latin America has been a major arena of contention between Beijing and Taipei ever since they split in 1949 after the victory of communist forces in the Chinese civil war.

Allied with Washington, all Central American countries remained tied to Taiwan for decades, but now only Guatemala and Belize maintain ties to the island.

Costa Rica (in 2007), Panama (2017), El Salvador (2018), and Nicaragua (2021) broke with Taiwan and allied with Beijing, which has tried for years to force Taipei’s diplomatic allies to switch sides .

Since the Honduras decision, only 13 countries in the world have recognized Taiwan, including Paraguay, Haiti and seven other small island states in the Caribbean and the Pacific.

Clearly seeking to consolidate this small group of allies, Taiwan on Tuesday announced President Tsai Ing-wen’s visit to Guatemala and Belize next week.

The trip will serve to “demonstrate the importance we attach to our allies and further deepen cooperation and development among democratic allies,” Tsai’s office said.

“Important ally”

Honduran Presidential Minister Rodolfo Pastor confirmed this Friday that economic interest is prompting Tegucigalpa to seek a relationship with China.

“Now it’s in China Chancellor Enrique Reina and the president’s entourage [Castro] sent with this important mission to establish diplomatic relations with this country,” the minister said at a press conference.

The pastor acknowledged that “Taiwan has been an important ally of our country, and we are deeply grateful […]However, at this moment, we must also recognize the global reality, the world stage, which heralds China’s rise as an economic, commercial and political power.”

During the campaign that brought her to the presidency, Castro announced that he would seek to establish relations with China, but upon taking office on January 27, 2022, the government raised eyebrows by declaring that relations with Taiwan were ongoing.

(AFP)