BEIJING (AP) — Honduras established diplomatic ties with China on Sunday after cutting ties with Taiwan, which is increasingly isolated and now recognized by only 13 sovereign states.
The foreign ministers of China and Honduras signed a joint communique in Beijing, a decision the Chinese foreign ministry hailed as the “right choice”.
China’s diplomatic victory comes as tensions rise between Beijing and the United States, including over China’s growing assertiveness over Taiwan’s self-rule, and signals growing Chinese influence in Latin America. The new China-Honduras relationship was announced after the governments of Honduras and Taiwan separately announced they were severing ties.
China and Taiwan have been locked in a battle over diplomatic recognition since they split during the 1949 civil war, with Beijing spending billions to win recognition of its “one China” policy.
China maintains that Taiwan is part of its territory, to be brought under its control by force if necessary, and rejects most contacts with countries that maintain formal ties to the island’s democracy. He threatens retaliation against countries just to increase contacts.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said the establishment of ties shows that adherence to the “one China” policy is winning people’s hearts and is the “general trend”.
“We strictly inform the Taiwanese authorities that engaging in separatist activities for the independence of Taiwan is against the will and interests of the Chinese nation and against the trend of history and is tied to a dead end,” he said.
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Honduras’ foreign ministry said in a statement on Twitter that its government recognizes “one China in the world” and that Beijing “is the only legitimate government that represents all of China.”
He added that “Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory, and to date the Honduran government has informed Taiwan of the severance of diplomatic relations, pledging to have no official relations or contacts with Taiwan.”
Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said at a press conference on Sunday that Taiwan had severed ties with Honduras to “defend its sovereignty and dignity”.
Wu said Honduran President Xiomara Castro and her team have always had an “imagination” about China and raised the issue of changing relations ahead of Honduras’ presidential election in 2021. “Honduras was once stable,” he said, but China has not ceased to attract Honduras.
Honduras has asked Taiwan for billions of dollars in aid and compared its offers with China’s, Wu said. About two weeks ago, the Honduran government asked Taiwan for $2.45 billion to build a hospital, a dam and cancel debts, he added.
“The Castro government rejected our nation’s long-standing assistance and relationship and held talks to form diplomatic ties with China. Our government feels pained and bad,” he said.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said her government would not “engage in a meaningless diplomacy contest with China”.
“In recent years, China has consistently used various means to suppress Taiwan’s international participation, escalate military intrusions and disrupt peace and stability in the region,” he said in a recorded video.
A spokeswoman for his office, Olivia Lin, said in a statement that the relationship between the parties spanned more than 80 years.
Analysts have warned about the implications of the new ties between China and Honduras. Honduran political analyst Graco Pérez said Beijing’s narrative will highlight benefits, including investment and job creation, “but it will all be illusory.”
Pérez noted that other countries had established such relationships, but “it didn’t turn out to be what was offered.”
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For decades, China has poured billions of dollars into investment and infrastructure projects in Latin America. This investment has led to China’s growing power and growing number of allies.
In Honduras, this came in the form of the construction of a hydroelectric dam project in central Honduras by the Chinese company SINOHYDRO with approximately $300 million funded by the Chinese government.
Honduras is the ninth diplomatic ally Taipei has lost to Beijing since pro-independence Tsai took office in May 2016.
Taiwan still has ties to Belize, Paraguay and Guatemala in Latin America and the Vatican. Most of its remaining partners are Caribbean and South Pacific island nations, along with South Africa’s Eswatini.
Part of this diplomatic recognition was achieved through financial and technical aid to Taiwan in the 1980s and 1990s, following exceptional economic growth. he wrote in his research.
In 1998, Taiwan established a $240 million aid fund for its Central American allies in hopes of maintaining their support. Taiwanese businesses have also been encouraged to invest in Central America to strengthen political ties, Maggiorelli wrote.
Tsai will begin a 10-day road trip on Wednesday with visits to Guatemala and Belize. His delegation will also stop in New York and Los Angeles, Lin said last week. Taiwan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Yui had previously said the purpose of Tsai’s trip was to highlight the island’s friendship with the two Latin American countries.
Wu said he had no evidence that the timing of the announcement was related to Tsai’s trip, but noted that “China seems to have done it on purpose.”
Despite China’s isolation campaign, Taiwan maintains strong unofficial ties with more than 100 other countries, most notably the United States. The United States does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but has argued that Taipei is an important partner in the Indo-Pacific.
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