Honduran cuts ties with Taiwan as China lures Taiwan

155
3
Honduran cuts ties with Taiwan as China lures Taiwan

TEGUCIGALPA: Honduras ended its decades-long relationship with Taiwan and said it only recognised China, as the foreign minister of Taiwan accused the Central American country of demanding exorbitant amounts of money before being lured away by Beijing.

The end of ties with Taiwan was long expected after the Honduran foreign minister travelled to China last week to open relations and President Xiomara Castro said her government would start ties with Beijing.

In a brief statement late on Saturday, the Honduran foreign ministry said that the People's Republic of China is the only legitimate government representing all of China and that Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory. China claims to have Taiwan as its own territory with no right to state-to-state ties, a position that Taipei strongly rejects. China wants countries with which it has ties to recognise its position.

On Sunday, Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said on Sunday in Taipei that Castro, who took office early last year, and her government had always had illusions about China and China's luring had never stopped.

The foreign ministry and embassy handled it carefully and grasped the relevant information. The government of Castro asked us for billions of dollars in huge economic assistance and compared prices for assistance provided by Taiwan and China, according to Wu.

China has yet to comment on the Honduran announcement on cutting Taiwan ties, but it said last week it was ready to establish relations.

On March 13, the Honduran foreign minister wrote to Taiwan on March 13, a day before Castro's initial announcement, requesting $2.45 billion in aid, including the construction of a hospital and a dam, and writing off debt.

Wu said that it felt like what they wanted was money, not a hospital.

Honduras Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina told Reuters last week that the US $2.5 billion figure was not a donation but rather a negotiated refinancing mechanism Taiwan now only has formal diplomatic relations with 13 countries, mostly poor and developing in Central America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen is due to depart for a sensitive visit to the United States, Guatemala and Belize on Wednesday. She is expected to meet US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles at the end of the trip.

Wu said he was highly suspicious of the timing of the Honduran decision so close to Tsai's overseas tour.

He said that China seems to be doing this intentionally.

The United States has been watching with concern as China expands its footprint in its backyard by taking Taiwan's Central American allies out, and warned countries not to believe China's promises of aid.

The US State Department said that while Honduran action was a sovereign decision, it is important to note that China often makes promises in exchange for diplomatic recognition that ultimately remain unfulfilled despite Honduras' decision to deepen and expand our engagement with Taiwan.

Relations between Honduras and Taiwan date back to 1941 when the government of the Republic of China, which remains Taiwan's official name, was still in China before it fled to the island in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong's communists.

Taiwan has only formal diplomatic relations with 13 countries, mostly poor and developing countries in Central America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific.