The president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, has stated that she wants her nation to sever its diplomatic ties with Taiwan and establish diplomatic relations with China.
Castro, who promised to cut ties with Beijing during her campaign for president in 2021 before changing her mind.
Announced on Tuesday night that she had given her foreign minister orders to start the process of recognising the People’s Republic of China.
She stated that the action was “a sign of my willingness to cooperate with the Government Plan and freely extend borders.”
According to the Reuters news agency, Eduardo Reina, the foreign minister of Honduras, subsequently said on local television.
“We have to look at things very pragmatically and seek the best advantage for the Honduran people.”
The Honduran government had received a serious worry from Taiwan, according to the country’s foreign ministry, which asked it to think carefully about its choice and avoid “falling into China’s trap.”
Although Xiomara didn’t mention Taiwan in her tweet, China forbids nations from maintaining diplomatic ties with Taipei if they support Beijing.
After Tsai Ing-wen became Taiwan’s president for the first time in 2016, Beijing has been attempting to strengthen ties with Taipei’s surviving allies. The Solomon Islands is one of the nations that have switched.
Nicaragua severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 2021 in Central America, an area that the US has long considered to be within its sphere of influence.
Only Belize and Guatemala will officially recognise Taiwan if Honduras switches, leaving the island nation with just 13 formal diplomatic allies worldwide as opposed to 22 before Tsai took office.
The manoeuvring for influence is happening in the midst of worsening US-China relations and escalating tensions between Beijing and Taiwan.
The US has increased its involvement in the region as Pacific countries have drifted away from Taiwan and after the Solomon Islands inked a security agreement with China.
The Honduran action was a sovereign decision, despite the fact that China “often makes assurances in exchange for diplomatic recognition that eventually remain unfilled.”
In a statement, it was also said that “irrespective of Honduras’ decision, the United States will continue to develop and grow its engagement with Taiwan.”
Since 1941, while Taiwan’s formal name, the Republic of China, was still a part of mainland China, Honduras and Taiwan have had diplomatic ties.
The government retreated to the island in 1949 after falling to Mao Zedong’s communists in a civil war.
