Diplomatic ties with El Salvador remain solid amid reports that the Central American nation was considering switching its recognition to Beijing, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday.
Salvadorean President Mauricio Funes was quoted by The Associated Press (AP) as saying that his government was “exploring” the possibility of establishing diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Funes said the decision would depend on “what is best for the country,” business-wise, adding, “we’re exploring new markets,” AP reported.
Funes’ comments came as a trade fair opened in San Salvador that included representatives from more than 50 Chinese firms, AP said.
Reuters reported that Funes told reporters at the opening of the fair that his nation might establish diplomatic ties with China if recognizing Beijing would be economically beneficial.
“If it is good for the country, we will do it,” Reuters quoted Funes as saying.
Salvadorean Ambassador to Taiwan Marta Chang de Tsien could not be reached to confirm the reports. The Salvadorean embassy said she was not in the office.
Though he was unable to confirm the accuracy of the wire reports, ministry spokesman James Chang (章計平) said the ministry had made contact with the Salvadorean government, which ensured its diplomatic ties with Taipei were solid.
El Salvador said that while it would consider building economic and trade relations with China, it affirmed its relationship with Taiwan and said it would continue to strengthen ties and carry out cooperative programs beneficial to Salvadorans, Chang said.
The loss of El Salvador would be extremely embarrassing to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who has said that the apparent truce between Taiwan and China concerning attempts to gain diplomatic allies at the other’s expense was a major accomplishment of his administration.
Foreign affairs analyst Alexander Huang (黃介正) of Tamkang University said in Taipei that it was very unlikely that China would risk undermining Ma’s position by poaching El Salvador, particularly ahead of the special municipality elections on Saturday.
“If this is truly a Beijing move, it is not going to look good for the ruling party,” Huang said. “But there is no reason why China would want to undermine the Chinese Nationalist Party’s [KMT] campaign.”
Funes re-established diplomatic relations with Cuba, which were broken off in 1961, after taking office last year.
Taiwan is recognized by only 23 nations.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AP
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