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(CNN) Honduras formally establishes diplomatic ties with China and cuts diplomatic ties with Taiwan, ending decades of ties, giving the self-governing island of democracy Honduras another blow in its struggle for recognition. gave
“The government of the Republic of Honduras recognizes that there is one China in the world and that the government of the People’s Republic of China represents China as a whole,” the foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday local time.
“Taiwan is an integral part of Chinese territory and as of today, the Honduran government has notified Taiwan of the severance of diplomatic relations,” it added.
China, which never ruled Taiwan but considers it part of its territory, refuses to maintain diplomatic ties with any country that recognizes it.
For the past 40 years, it has sought to cut diplomatic allies with offers of economic aid and isolate the autonomous islands.
Honduras was one of only 14 countries to diplomatically recognize Taipei, but not Beijing.
Shortly after Honduras’ announcement, Taiwan confirmed that ties had been officially severed.
“In order to protect the sovereignty and dignity of our nation, we have decided to immediately suspend diplomatic relations with Honduras and suspend all bilateral cooperation plans,” Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said at a press conference. He added that he is asking Honduras to close its embassy in Taipei.
China also confirmed the move, saying it had signed a “joint communiqué on establishing diplomatic relations” with Honduras on Sunday.
“The two governments (of China and Honduras) recognize each other and have decided to establish diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level, which will take effect from the date of signing this communiqué,” China’s foreign ministry said in a statement. Stated.
“There is only one China in the world, and the government of the People’s Republic of China is the only legitimate government representing China as a whole. Taiwan is an integral part of China’s territory,” he added.
Honduran President Siomara Castro announced on March 14 that the switch was imminent.
Castro, a democratic socialist who won a landslide victory in 2021, had said in his foreign policy manifesto before the vote that the Central American country was seeking to establish diplomatic ties with Beijing.
The Chinese Communist Party has not ruled out the possibility of one day using force to occupy Taiwan. Under President Xi Jinping, China has stepped up military, diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan, including persuading allies in Taipei to switch allegiance.
loss of awareness
Taiwan had 56 diplomatic allies when it lost recognition from the United Nations in 1971. That number dropped to just 22 when Taiwan’s current President Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016, and has continued to decline in the years since.
Most of Taiwan’s remaining allies are now small states in Latin America and the Pacific, and all of the world’s most powerful economies switched perceptions to Beijing decades ago.
In an approach many experts have dubbed “dollar diplomacy,” the Chinese government is using China’s huge market as both a carrot and a stick to tear the rest away.
When the Solomon Islands switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing in 2019, the Pacific nation was offered $8.5 million in development funding from China, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, Paraguay, the largest of Taiwan’s remaining diplomatic allies, faces restrictions on soybean and beef exports to China. He openly called for $1 billion to be invested in Taiwan so that it could continue to resist the “huge” pressure to abandon it.
“The rise of China poses a huge challenge to our foreign policy,” Johnny Chen, a lawmaker in Taiwan’s opposition Kuomintang and a member of the parliament’s foreign affairs and defense committee, recently told CNN. Told.
He said Taiwan is increasingly choosing not to align with China’s “dollar diplomacy”, preferring instead to emphasize shared values like democracy.
How important is this?
Analysts disagree about the significance of Taiwan’s loss of an ally.
Some say that public relationships are worth it, and that’s to an extent.
Having an official ally helps provide Taiwan’s voice in the international community. For example, last October, ten of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies co-signed a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres criticizing the UN’s exclusion of Taiwan.
Still, most of the remaining allies are relatively small and have limited influence on the world stage.
J. Michael Cole, senior adviser to the International Republican Institute, said, “They are speaking out at the United Nations General Assembly, but to upset the rest of the people who often vote for Beijing, that number is enough.” is insufficient,” he said.
But some say that despite the loss of allies, Taiwan’s global influence is growing.
For example, unofficial ties between Taiwan and the United States, which withdrew diplomatic recognition from Taipei in 1979, appear to many to be as strong as they have been in decades past.
The lack of diplomatic ties did not delay then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s controversial visit to Taipei in August.
Nor can the incumbent US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy dissuade him from planning to meet Tsai in early April, who will be passing through the US en route to Central America, triggering a Chinese hackle. This is another visit that is widely anticipated.
Experts say the United States remains the single biggest guarantor of Taiwan’s security in the face of possible Chinese aggression, and the United States supplies Taiwan with arms every year.
They also point out that the G7 countries (US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the UK) have all expressed concerns following China’s post-Pelosi military exercises.
Taiwan’s role as a world leader in supplying semiconductor chips is necessary to power everything from laptops to advanced weaponry, and it is also an important trading partner for many Western democracies.
Lev Nachman, assistant professor of political science at National Chengchi University, recently told CNN: What really changes for allies? There aren’t many answers. ”
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