The remaining Central American allies of Taiwan on Tuesday offered guarded responses to Panama’s decision to embrace the one-China policy and switch allegiance to Beijing, deflecting the question of whether they could follow suit….
The remaining Central American allies of Taiwan on Tuesday offered guarded responses to Panama’s decision to embrace the one-China policy and switch allegiance to Beijing, deflecting the question of whether they could follow suit. On Monday, Panama said it had broken with Taiwan to forge ties with Beijing, in a major victory for mainland China’s efforts to isolate the island it views as a renegade province. Following Panama’s departure from the fold, Taiwan has full ties with 20 countries – several of them in Central America, where Taiwanese economic aid has helped support a region that relies heavily on agriculture and struggles with law and order. The most populous of those, Guatemala, declined to comment on its future with Taiwan. “We don’ t have an official position on this. It’s a matter that concerns other countries, ” Guatemalan Foreign Minister Carlos Morales said when asked whether his country would go down the same path as Panama with Beijing. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen went to Guatemala in January during a visit to a clutch of Central American allies. Her Guatemalan counterpart, Jimmy Morales, said at the time he expected Taipei to deepen ties with the region. Neighbouring El Salvador said it had no plans to enter into new ties with other governments. “Right now, the establishment of diplomatic relations with [other countries] is not on my radar, ” Foreign Minister Hugo Martinez said after a fundraising event that focused on Taiwanese investment for projects in the country.
