The blow to Taiwan, Honduras turns relations to China

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Honduras has severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in recognition of China, dealing a blow to Taipei’s international standing and Washington’s diplomatic efforts in Central America.

The diplomatic victory for China further reduces the small number of countries that have ties to Taiwan, the democratic island that Beijing claims as its territory. The decision was announced in a statement by Honduras Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday.

While not directly referring to Honduras leaving Taiwan, Honduran government officials had said a few days earlier that forging closer links with China was important to improving the economy. the country’s ailing economy.

“What we are looking to establish through our relationship with China is to attract investment to overcome the challenges facing the country,” Rodolfo Pastor de María y Campos, Honduras’ foreign minister, told reporters, noting that the country is saddled with more than $20 billion in debt.

“If we don’t manage to improve and get out of that debt, we Hondurans will pay the price for generations to come,” he said.

The State Department statement on Saturday was blunt, saying in part: “Taiwan is an integral part of Chinese territory and, to this day, the government of Honduras has informed Taiwan of the sever diplomatic ties, pledge not to have any more official relations or communicate with Taiwan.”

The establishment of China-Honduras relations comes days before Tsai Ing-wen, the president of Taiwan, is due to visit Belize and Guatemala, Taiwan’s two remaining Latin American allies, to strengthen ties. President Tsai Ing-wen will leave Taiwan on Wednesday on a trip that will also include stops in the United States, something Beijing has opposed.

China asks countries with diplomatic relations to stop recognizing Taiwan. Since Ms. Tsai took office in 2016, it has eliminated the number of diplomatic allies that recognize Taiwan as an independent country. Beijing has severed official communication with Ms. Tsai’s government because she has refused to claim that Taiwan and China are both part of the same country.

Only 12 countries and the Vatican currently recognize Taiwan, down from 21 in early 2017. The last time Taiwan lost a diplomatic ally was in 2021, when Nicaragua established diplomatic relations with China.

“It was definitely a blow,” said Lu Yeh-chung, a professor in the foreign affairs department at National Chengchi University in Taipei. “Official diplomatic relations with small countries are still very significant to Taiwan’s international standing.”

When the president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, ran for president two years ago, she pledged to establish relations with Beijing.

“I plan to expand international relations with mainland China, which will help it enter the world’s fastest-growing market,” she said in 2021.

This month, Mrs. Castro announced on Twitter that Honduras intends to sever ties with Taiwan, said she has instructed her country’s foreign minister to build official relations with China.

China and its investors have shown a clear interest, funding a hydroelectric dam and exploration railway and port project domestic.

Honduras’ decision is a step back in Washington’s attempt to use its influence in Central America to help prevent China from isolating Taiwan on the international stage. The State Department said President Biden sent an envoy, Christopher J. Dodd, to Honduras this month, a trip announced after Honduras said it would switch relations.

“It’s easy for Washington to get upset when countries get upset,” said Mitch Hayes, an expert on China’s relations with Latin America and director of Veracity Worldwide, a political risk consulting firm in New York. Countries like Honduras shifted their alliance from Taiwan to Beijing. “But they really need to understand that it’s a pretty sensible strategy for a small country and emerging economies to join. We can expect to see more of this in the coming years.

China and Taiwan have long engaged in what some analysts have described as “checkbook diplomacy” with the courts of countries by providing aid and loans. Joseph Wu, Taiwan’s foreign minister, said at a legislative meeting on Thursday that Honduras had asked for a “high price” from Taiwan.

Antonio García, Honduras’ deputy foreign minister, in an interview on Friday, confirmed that since last September, Honduras has requested a $2 billion loan at least four different times during meetings and dinner with Taiwanese officials.

“The approach is, ‘Help us, we have to deliver results, which will be a relief. We are not asking you to give us anything for free; we will pay you back,” said García, adding that the loan will be used to pay off part of the country’s debt.

Mr. García said he participated in two discussions with Taiwanese officials about the loan, and each time received unclear responses.

“They listened attentively and told us that they would carry out the respective consultations with the foreign ministry in Taipei,” he said.

In the days before officially severing ties, Taiwan’s foreign ministry said it had expressed “serious concerns” with Honduras over the news of its decision and warned the country of the risk of taking Chinese money.

Jeff Liu, a spokesman for Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: “We would like to remind the Honduran government that because they are stuck in debt problems, don’t drink poison to quench their thirst, or they will fall into China’s debt trap. a press conference last week.

Edward King contribution report.