On Saturday, March 25, Honduras severed its ties with Taiwan, failing to recognize the island, and confirmed that it has established diplomatic relations with China. The announcement had been expected since March 14, when President Xiomara Castro announced via Twitter that her government would seek relations with China. The Caribbean republic was one of fourteen countries, including the Vatican, that recognized the Taiwanese government.
According to the news agency Reuters (who had access to the document), before the rupture, Honduras wrote a letter to the Taiwanese government asking for US$ 2.5 billion in financial aid to pay off debts and build a hospital and a dam. But President Xiomara Castro’s March 14 announcement came before the island’s response.
According to Reuters, the Honduran foreign minister denied the information, saying that Taiwan repeatedly heard the request to buy the country’s public debt verbally, and that it sent a note to the island “about a week before” the president’s announcement. He also said that his country’s decision was made in part because Honduras was “up to its neck” in financial challenges and debt. According to the agency, the governments of Taipei and Beijing accuse each other of practicing “dollar diplomacy” as an approach in the search for allies. China financed with a credit of about US$ 300 million (R$ 1.2 billion) the Patuca III dam, inaugurated in January 2021 by the president at the time, Juan Orlando Hernández.
Since President Xiomara Castro’s tweet, Taiwan has tried to dissuade Honduras from establishing relations with Beijing and that the country should not believe its “empty promises”. On March 15, the Honduran ambassador was at the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and after the meeting, the agency released a statement that said: “The real objective of the false and attractive promises of the Chinese dictatorial regime is to withdraw our diplomatic allies and suppress Taiwan’s international space”. Taipei’s government also said it would not engage in “meaningless” dollar diplomacy with China.
On Saturday (25), the Honduran government confirmed that it has stopped recognizing Taiwan and that it has established diplomatic relations with China. According to a statement from the Honduran Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “The government of the Republic of Honduras 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 representing all of China. Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory and on this date, the Honduran government communicated to Taiwan the break in diplomatic relations, pledging not to have any official relationship or contact with Taiwan again”. This announcement was also expected, since the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Honduras, Eduardo Reina, had traveled on the 22nd to “promote efforts for the establishment of diplomatic relations”, according to the press secretary of the Honduran presidency Ivis Alvarado .
The breach comes weeks before Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s trip to Belize and Guatemala, her allies. On the way, she must stop in the United States, with whom the island maintains non-formal relations. As per the commitment signed between the US and China, Taiwanese leaders can meet with supporters in the United States, including members of the US Congress. The minister intends to meet with Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy and make speeches in New York and Los Angeles.
Repercussions
Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu stated that “President Castro and her leadership team are deluded about China and have raised the issue of changing recognition during the election campaign.” Establishing ties with China was one of Xiomara Castro’s presidential campaign promises in 2021. In 2022, however, the government seemed to have given up on that intention. As reported by the agency ReutersTaiwan must vacate its embassy in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa within 30 days, Deputy Foreign Minister Antonio Garcia said on local television on Monday.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, also on Monday, that the country’s establishment of diplomatic relations with Honduras was a “political decision” without conditions. During a press conference, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Mao Ning said “diplomatic ties are not something to trade,” when asked if China would give the nearly $2.5 billion that Honduras had asked Taiwan.
Historic
Honduras is the fifth Latin country to break relations with Taiwan since 2017. According to CNN, the movement is part of an offensive by China in the region. Over the past six years, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic have also severed ties with Taipei.
Relations between Taiwan and Honduras were established in 1941, the year the Republic of China (Taiwan’s official name) government was still in China, before escaping to the island in 1949 after losing the civil war against the Communists of Mao Zedong.
Thirteen countries now have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, including the Vatican, up from 22 in 2016, when Tsai Ing-wen took over as president. Most are located in the Central America, Caribbean and Pacific region and are developing nations such as Belize, Guatemala, Haiti and Paraguay.
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