Honduras forged diplomatic ties with China on Sunday after severing ties with Taiwan, which is increasingly isolated and now recognized by just 13 sovereign states, including Vatican City.
The foreign ministers of China and Honduras signed a joint statement in Beijing – a move China’s foreign ministry hailed as “the right choice”.
The new ties come amid growing tensions between Beijing and the United States, including over China’s growing assertiveness towards autonomous Taiwan, and signal China’s growing influence in Latin America. The new China-Honduras relationship was announced after the Honduran and Taiwanese governments separately announced they were severing ties.
The Honduran Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Twitter that its government recognizes “only one China in the world” and that Beijing “is the only legitimate government that represents all of China.”
He added that “Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory, and to date, the Honduran government has informed Taiwan of the severance of diplomatic relations, pledging not to have any official relationship or contact with Taiwan.”
Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu told a press conference on Sunday that Taiwan had ended its relations with Honduras to “safeguard its sovereignty and dignity”.
Wu said Honduran President Xiomara Castro and her team had always had a “fantasy” about China and raised the issue of changing ties ahead of the presidential election in Honduras in 2021. Relations between Taiwan and Honduras were once stable, he said, but China had kept attracting Honduras.
Honduras has asked Taiwan for billions of dollars in aid and compared its proposals with those of China, Wu said. About two weeks ago, the Honduran government asked Taiwan for $2.45 billion to build a hospital and a dam, and to cancel debts, he added.
“The Castro government has rejected our nation’s aid and long-standing relationship and has held talks to establish diplomatic relations with China. Our government feels sorrow and regret,” he said.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said her government would not “engage in a meaningless competition of dollar diplomacy with China”.
“Over the past few years, China has consistently used various means to suppress Taiwan’s international involvement, step up military intrusion and disrupt peace and stability in the region,” she said in a recorded video. .
His office spokeswoman Olivia Lin said in a statement that the relationship between the two parties has spanned more than 80 years.
Analysts have warned of the implications of newly formed ties between China and Honduras. Political analyst Graco Pérez in Honduras said Beijing’s narrative would highlight benefits, including investment and job creation, “but all of that will be illusory.”
Pérez noted that some other countries have established such relationships, but “it didn’t turn out to be what was proposed.”
For decades, China has funneled billions of dollars into investment and infrastructure projects across Latin America. This investment has resulted in the rise of China and a growing number of allies.
In Honduras, it is the construction of a hydroelectric dam project in central Honduras, built by the Chinese company SINOHYDRO with funding of approximately $300 million from the Chinese government.
Honduras is the ninth diplomatic ally Taipei has lost to Beijing since pro-independence President Tsai Ing-wen took office in May 2016.
China and Taiwan have been locked in a battle for diplomatic recognition since the sides split amid civil war in 1949, with Beijing spending billions to gain recognition for its “one China” policy.
China claims that Taiwan is part of its territory, to be brought under its control by force if necessary, and refuses most contacts with countries that maintain formal ties with the island democracy. He threatens reprisals against countries simply for increasing contacts.
Taiwan still has ties with Belize, Paraguay and Guatemala in Latin America, and Vatican City. Most of its remaining partners are island nations in the Caribbean and South Pacific, as well as Eswatini in southern Africa.
Tsai is scheduled to begin a 10-day trip on Wednesday with visits to Guatemala and Belize. His delegation will also stop in New York and Los Angeles, Lin said last week. Taiwan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Yui said earlier that the purpose of Tsai’s trip was to highlight the island’s friendship with the two Latin American countries.
Wu said he had no evidence that the timing of the announcement was related to Tsai’s trip, but noted that “China seems to be doing it intentionally.”
Despite China’s isolation campaign, Taiwan retains strong informal ties with more than 100 other countries, primarily the United States. The United States does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan but has maintained that Taipei is an important partner in the Indo-Pacific.