It’s not easy being in charge of foreign relations of a country most of the world refuses to recognize. Taiwan lost another ally on…
It’s not easy being in charge of foreign relations of a country most of the world refuses to recognize.
Taiwan lost another ally on Thursday. The West African country Burkina Faso became the latest country to cut ties with the island. After the Dominican Republic, that’s two in less than one month. And like other countries, including the United States, that for decades have broken diplomatic relations with Taiwan, they did so for one reason: to please China.
The Chinese government refuses to maintain diplomatic relations with any nation that recognizes Taiwan and has long pressured countries to sever ties with the island.
For Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, it’s hard not to feel cornered.
« When we look at the rest of the world, every other country has the right to enter into diplomatic relations with other countries, » Wu says in an NPR interview. « They have every right to participate in international activities or international organizations. But Taiwan is in a situation that it is being blocked by China to do all those things. »
Despite the fact that Taiwan has its own democratically elected government, its own military and its own flag, the Chinese government regards the island as a renegade province that belongs to China. Today, fewer than 20 countries have formal ties with the island, down from about 30 in the 1990s.
Yet while China has long used diplomatic and commercial might to isolate Taiwan, it has also recently displayed its military strategy. Last month, China conducted a live-fire drill in the Taiwan Strait for the first time in two years. That was soon followed by bombers, surveillance aircraft, and fighter jets from China’s air force that have been circling Taiwan on a semiregular basis in recent weeks.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Ma Xiaoguang was quoted by the Global Times tabloid as saying the purpose of the drills was « to reaffirm that we have strong determination, confidence and capability to destroy any type of ‘Taiwan independence’ scheme in order to safeguard the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. »
But military experts offer different takes on what it may mean: some view the drills as routine exercises, but others say this could be a glimpse of future plans for invasion.
Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen was angered by China’s latest moves, including its poaching of Burkina Faso, one of Taiwan’s last allies in Africa and the fourth country to ditch Taiwan since the president took office in 2016.
