Cutting ties with Taiwan, the Republic of El Salvador established diplomatic relations with China.
On August 21, the Republic of El Salvador, a small Central American nation, formally established diplomatic ties with the People’s Republic of China (hereafter referred to as China) and, at the same time, ended its nearly two-decade relationship with the Republic of China (Taiwan) — leaving Taiwan with only 17 diplomatic allies now.
According to the Chinese foreign ministry’s announcement, in the joint communique signed by both nations, El Salvador “recognizes that there is only one China in the world… Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory. The government of the Republic of El Salvador… promises not to have any official relations with Taiwan or to conduct any official exchanges. “
El Salvador’s decision to officially cut ties with Taiwan came only two days after Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen wrapped up her high-profile stopover in the U. S. city of Houston. The loss of a diplomatic ally was Beijing’s apparent attempt to get revenge on Tsai.
As The Diplomat has been following, Tsai just wrapped up a nine-day state visit to Taiwan’s allies Paraguay and Belize last week. Belize, in particular, is only a 1.5-hour flight away from El Salvador. The fact that Tsai didn’t include El Salvador during her latest trip had hinted that all was not well in the relationship.
Early on August 21, Taiwan’s foreign ministry held a press conference to respond to the news.
