Honduras cuts ties with Taiwan and announces the establishment of diplomatic relations with China

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying tweeted: “China and Honduras have just established diplomatic relations.”

China and Honduras agreed to develop relations based on the principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to Xinhua news agency.

What happened?

• Honduras announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Taiwan, 11 days after it indicated that it would establish diplomatic relations with Beijing, in a decision that prompted an immediate reaction from Taipei.
• The Honduran Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Minister Enrique Reina, “on the instructions of President Xiomara Castro, has informed Taiwan of the decision to sever diplomatic relations.”
• Taiwan has accused China of pressuring its dwindling allies to join its ranks after severing diplomatic ties between Taiwan and Honduras.
• “The severing of diplomatic relations between our country and Honduras is part of a series of coercion and intimidation,” the office of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said in a statement. “… China has long diminished (Taiwan’s) position in the international arena, endangering regional peace and stability in a unilateral way.” .
• The Taiwanese foreign minister considered that Honduran President Xiomara Castro had “illusions” about China’s promises to her to provide economic aid, in a position that comes after Tegucigalpa announced the severing of diplomatic relations with Taipei.
• Joseph Wu said that “President Castro and her administration have illusions about China, and during the election campaign they raised the issue of changing recognition” of Taiwan.
• “China has not stopped trying to lure Honduras through financial incentives,” he added.

What are the reasons for Honduras’ decision?

• The Honduran Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “The government of the Republic of Honduras recognizes that there is only one China in the world, and the government of the People’s Republic of China is the only legal government that represents the whole of China.”
• The ministry added that “Taiwan is an integral part of Chinese territory,” noting that it pledged “not to establish any relationship or contacts of an official nature with Taiwan.”

China’s position

• China opposes any official exchanges between Taiwan and its international partners, and based on the “One China” principle, it considers the self-administered island to be one of its own provinces that it will take back one day, by force if necessary.
• Central America has been a region of strategic importance to Beijing and Taipei since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.
• In recent years, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama, the Dominican Republic, and Costa Rica have switched sides and are establishing diplomatic relations with Beijing.