Honduras establishes diplomatic relations with China and distances itself from Taiwan

China and Honduras announced on Sunday the establishment of diplomatic relationsa victory for Beijing that snatches a new ally from Taiwan, now recognized by only 13 countries in the world.

“Today we take a historic step in the process of consolidating and strengthening our international relations, particularly with the Chinese people and government,” said the Honduran Minister of Foreign Affairs, Enrique Reina, after signing a joint declaration with his counterpart, Qin Gang.

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Honduras “effectively recognizes that there is only one China in the world and that the government of the People’s Republic of China is the only legitimate government that represents all of China,” it added.

“The two governments decided to recognize each other and establish diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level” with immediate effect, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in a statement.

The announcement was made hours after Tegucigalpa will announce the break of relations with Taiwan. Under the “One China” principle, Beijing does not allow any country to simultaneously maintain diplomatic relations with Taipei.

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Reina, “with instructions from the President of the Republic [Xiomara Castro]has communicated to Taiwan the decision to break diplomatic relations between the two,” said the Honduran Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The announcement took place two days after Reina’s trip to Beijing to discuss the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties, promoted by Xiomara Castro under the argument of economic necessity. The Chinese foreign minister invited the Honduran president to visit Beijing soon.

“Intimidations”

He Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs He was quick to react, accusing Beijing of “attracting Honduras with financial incentives.” The office of the Taiwanese president, Tsai Ing-wen, singled out Beijing for considering that it is putting pressure on the few remaining allies of this island in the Pacific Ocean, of autonomous democratic government.

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“The severing of diplomatic relations between our country and Honduras is part of a series of Chinese coercion and intimidation,” Tsai’s office said.

In a message on Facebook, the president herself described the break in relations with Tegucigalpa as “unfortunate.” “We are not going to launch against China in a meaningless battle consisting of checkbook diplomacy,” said the leader.

The American Institute of Taiwan, which functions as the de facto US embassy on the island, commented that “China often makes promises in exchange for diplomatic recognition that it then fails to deliver.”

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He Minister of the Presidency of Honduras, Rodolfo Pastor, reiterated this Friday that economic interest prompted Tegucigalpa to seek relations with Beijing. Pastor acknowledged that “Taiwan has been an important ally in our country and we are deeply grateful,” but “at this time we also have to recognize a global reality, a world scenario that marks the rise of China as an economic, commercial, and political power.” .

This Sunday, the Taiwanese Foreign Minister, Joseph Wu, pointed out that the Honduran Executive had asked the island for “financial aid worth billions of dollars” to maintain its ties. According to him, the Central American country had requested 90 million dollars for a hospital and 350 million for a dam, in addition to being forgiven 2,000 million dollars of debt.

AFP

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