Honduran Foreign Minister Eduardo Reina invoked Wednesday, March 16 "
the enormous needs
" of Honduras and the refusal of Taiwan to increase its aid to justify the establishment of relations with Beijing.
To which the Taiwanese government replied that Taiwan "
will never compete with China for cash diplomacy
", while advising Honduras to "
not drink poison to quench its thirst
".
Ties threatened with Taiwan
The President of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, announced on Tuesday March 14 the establishment of “
official relations with the People's Republic of China
”.
A decision hailed by Beijing, but which threatens the ties that Taiwan has had with this Central American country for decades.
Honduras has offered Taiwan to have "
greater relations with Tegucigalpa, in line with the great needs of the Honduran people
", but the response has not been positive, Eduardo Reina told local television Canal 5.
"
Unfortunately, the needs are enormous and we have not seen a response
" from Taipei, regretted the head of diplomacy of Honduras, one of the most disadvantaged countries in Latin America, including 74% of its nearly ten million people live below the poverty line.
The government of Xiomara Castro has asked Taiwan to double its aid to Honduras from fifty to one hundred million dollars a year.
Tegucigalpa also offered, without success, to "
readjust the debt
" of 600 million dollars contracted by Honduras with Taipei, indicated Eduardo Reina.
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"Debt problems"
The public debt of Honduras amounts to twenty billion dollars and this one “
strangles the country
”, argued the minister.
Last year, Honduras paid about $2.2 billion to service its debt, and that amount is expected to rise by 2023 to more than $2.3 billion.
In a statement, the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry said that Eduardo Reina's statements "
do not fully reflect the communication between the two parties
" and that Taipei "
will never compete with China for cash diplomacy
".
"
We remind Honduras not to drink poison to quench their thirst and not to fall into the trap of Chinese debt, as the country is already in the throes of debt problems
“added the ministry.
In the name of the principle of one China, the communist power in Beijing, which claims sovereignty over Taiwan, does not accept diplomatic relations with both it and Taipei.
Any recognition by a country of the People's Republic of China leads de facto to the rupture between it and Taiwan.
“
We had to make this decision
,” assured Eduardo Reina, stressing that “
171 countries in the world have relations with mainland China
”, while Taiwan only has relations with 14 states.
“
We are belatedly and responsibly conforming to a global trend.
The idea is to find ways to get more investment and business
“, insisted the Honduran minister.
In Central America, Costa Rica (in 2007), Panama (in 2017), El Salvador (in 2018) and Nicaragua (in 2021) severed relations with Taiwan in favor of Beijing.