Taiwan
Tsai Ing-wen will visit allies Guatemala and Belize after Honduras announced last week that it would establish “official ties” with China
AFP in Taipei
Tue 21 Mar 2023 21:11 GMT
Taiwan’s president will visit diplomatic allies Guatemala and Belize next week, including stops in the United States to cement ties in Latin America.
Tsai Ing-wen will leave Taiwan on March 29 for the 10-day trip, stopping in New York and Los Angeles on the way to and from Central American countries, the island’s ministry said on Tuesday.
Belize and Guatemala are two of just 14 countries to officially recognize Taiwan from China, and Tsai’s trip comes after Honduras announced earlier this month that it would switch recognition to Beijing.
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China regards the self-governing, democratic Taiwan as part of its territory, which one day is to be recaptured, if necessary by force. According to the “One China” principle, no country is allowed to have official diplomatic relations with both China and Taiwan.
During her trip, President Tsai will meet her Guatemalan counterpart Alejandro Giammattei and Belizean Prime Minister Johnny Briceño, the State Department said.
Asked if Tsai would meet US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles, Deputy Secretary of State Alexander Yui said only that her “transit route will be reasonably arranged with the US side.”
McCarthy said earlier this month that he would be seeing Tsai in his home state of California.
On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin reiterated his country’s opposition to Tsai meeting with US officials.
“We firmly oppose any form of official exchange between the US and Taiwan,” he said at a press conference in Beijing. “China has made solemn declarations to the US in this regard.”
In Washington, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel downplayed the importance of Tsai’s transit, saying it is normal for Taiwanese dignitaries to meet congressmen or hold public events while in the US.
“Transit-throughs are disregarded out of consideration for the safety, comfort and convenience and dignity of the passenger, and are in line with our one-China policy, which also remains unchanged,” Patel told reporters.
Washington is one of Taiwan’s key global allies and its largest arms supplier, although it itself shifted diplomatic recognition to Beijing in 1979.
Last August, a visit to Taiwan by McCarthy’s predecessor, Nancy Pelosi, drew condemnation from China, which responded by conducting massive military exercises around the island.
McCarthy has vowed to visit Taiwan too, but the stopover could give him an opportunity to dodge a potentially explosive trip.
Tsai’s trip comes at a critical time for Taiwan after Honduran President Xiomara Castro said last week that her country would establish “official ties” with China.
Latin America has been a key diplomatic battleground for China and Taiwan since the two countries separated in 1949 after a civil war.
Honduras’ move – which would result in the severing of longstanding official ties with Taiwan – followed negotiations between Honduras and China to build a hydroelectric power station in the country.
It continues a trend in the region, with Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica all switching diplomatic recognition to Beijing in recent years.
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