China and Honduras today restored diplomatic relations, a setback for Taiwan, which has lost another ally and denounced Beijing’s “coercion and intimidation”.

Tegucigalpa announced a few hours ago that it had cut ties with Taipei, which is currently recognized by only 13 countries in the world.

“China and Honduras have restored diplomatic relations,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying tweeted.

Her post was accompanied by a photo of Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang shaking hands with his Honduran counterpart Enrique Reina in Beijing.

China considers the island of Taiwan, which is home to 23 million people, its territory and wants to regain control over it.

“delusions”

In the name of the “one China” principle, Beijing does not allow foreign countries to have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, although the island has established international relations in other ways.

In a statement released last Saturday evening by the Honduran Foreign Ministry, Reina said that “following the order” of the country’s President Xiomar Castro, he “informed Taiwan of the decision to break off our diplomatic relations.”

“The Government of Honduras recognizes the existence of only one China in the world and that the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing all of China,” the statement said.

“Taiwan is an integral part of Chinese territory,” the statement said, adding that as of Saturday, the Honduran government has no official relationship or contact with Taiwan.

In response, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu today accused Honduras of being “misleading” about China’s bailout promises.

“China has not stopped trying to attract Honduras with economic stimulus,” he complained during a press conference from Taipei.

“The severance of diplomatic relations between our country and Honduras is part of China’s coercion and intimidation,” Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen said.

“China has long limited Taiwan’s position in the international arena, unilaterally endangering regional peace and stability,” he added.

For its part, the United States noted that China often makes promises in exchange for diplomatic recognition, which in the end does not fulfill.

“We urge all countries to expand their ties with Taiwan and continue to uphold democracy, good governance, transparency, and respect for the rule of law,” a State Department spokesman said.

Vatican and Haiti

The Chinese authorities have been attempting to isolate Taiwan diplomatically since the 2016 presidential election of Tsai, who comes from the island’s pro-independence party.

In recent years, Beijing has wrested several of its Latin American allies from Taipei, such as the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.

Among the countries that still maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan are the Vatican City, Eswatini, Paraguay, the countries of the Pacific Islands and Haiti.

Eduardo Enrique Reina on March 15 cited Honduras’ “huge needs” and Taiwan’s refusal to increase its aid to justify rebuilding his country’s relationship with Beijing.

Newly elected Castro promised during his election campaign to recognize China.

Source: APE-ME, AFP, REUTERS.