Honduran Foreign Minister Eduardo Reina (left) and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang (right) raise a toast after signing a joint communiqué in Beijing, China March 26, 2023. Honduras established diplomatic ties with China after breaking with Taiwan. | Photo: EFE/EPO/MARK R. CRISTINO
On Saturday, March 25, Honduras severed ties with Taiwan, did not recognize the island and confirmed it had established diplomatic ties with China. The announcement had been anticipated since March 14, when President Xiomara Castro announced via Twitter that her government would seek ties with China. The Caribbean Republic was one of fourteen countries, including the Vatican, to recognize the Taiwanese government.
According to an investigation by Portal news agency (which had access to the document), before the collapse, Honduras wrote a letter to the Taiwanese government asking for $2.5 billion in financial help to pay off debts and sponsor a hospital build dam. But President Xiomara Castro’s March 14 announcement came before the island’s response.
According to Portal, the Honduran foreign minister denied the information, saying Taiwan had heard repeated verbal calls to purchase the country’s sovereign debt and sent a note to the island “about a week before” the president’s announcement. He also said his country’s decision was made in part because Honduras was “dead to the neck” with financial problems and debt. According to the agency, the governments of Taipei and Beijing accuse each other of practicing “dollar diplomacy” in their search for allies. China financed the Patuca III dam with a loan of about US$300 million (R$1.2 billion), which was inaugurated in January 2021 by thenPresident Juan Orlando Hernández.
Since President Xiomara Castro’s tweet, Taiwan has tried to dissuade Honduras from establishing ties with Beijing and that the country should not believe its “empty promises.” On March 15, the Honduran ambassador was at Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and after the meeting, the agency released a statement that said, “The real aim of the Chinese dictatorial regime’s false and attractive promises is to withdraw our diplomatic allies and Taiwan’s international space.” suppress”. The Taipei government also said it would not engage in “pointless” dollar diplomacy with China.
On Saturday (25th), the Honduran government confirmed that it no longer recognizes Taiwan and has established diplomatic relations with China. A statement from 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 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 that day the Honduran government notified Taiwan that it had severed diplomatic ties and vowed not to maintain official relations or contacts with Taiwan.” The announcement was also expected given that Honduran Foreign Minister Eduardo Reina arrived on the 22nd to “promote efforts to establish diplomatic ties,” according to Honduran Presidency spokesman Ivis Alvarado.
The break came weeks before Taiwanese President Tsai Ingwen’s trip to Belize and Guatemala, her allies. On the way, she has to stop in the United States, with which the island has informal relations. Under the pledge signed between the US and China, Taiwanese leaders can meet with supporters in the United States, including members of the US Congress. The ruler intends to meet with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and hold speeches in New York and Los Angeles.
Effects
Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu stated that “President Castro and her leadership team are mistaken about China and raised the issue of altered recognition during the election campaign.” Building ties with China was one of Xiomara Castro’s promises during the 2021 election campaign. In 2022, however, the government appeared to have abandoned that intention. Taiwan must vacate its embassy in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa within 30 days, Portal reports, Deputy Foreign Minister Antonio Garcia said on local television on Monday.
China’s Foreign Ministry also said on Monday that the country’s establishment of diplomatic ties with Honduras is a “political decision” with no strings attached. During a news conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said “diplomatic ties are not something to bargain with” when asked if China would give the nearly $2.5 billion Honduras had asked Taiwan for.
Historical
Honduras is the fifth Latin American country to sever ties with Taiwan since 2017. According to CNN, the movement is part of an offensive by China in the region. El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic have also severed ties with Taipei in the past six years.
Relations between Taiwan and Honduras began in 1941, the year the ROC government (Taiwan’s official name) was still in China before fleeing to the island in 1949 after losing the civil war to Mao Zedong’s communists .
Thirteen countries now have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, including the Vatican, up from 22 in 2016 when Tsai Ingwen took office as president. Most are located in Central America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific, and are developing countries such as Belize, Guatemala, Haiti, and Paraguay.