US senators on Friday last week introduced a bill aimed at supporting countries that maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan amid mounting pressure from China. The US-Taiwan partnership in the Americas act seeks to “deepen coordination with Taiwan on diplomatic, development and economic engagement in the Western hemisphere.”
Taiwan has seven remaining diplomatic allies in Latin America and the Caribbean — Belize, Guatemala, Haiti, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines — all of which are facing growing pressure from China to “sever diplomatic relations with Taiwan by leveraging opaque development deals and backroom pressure,” the bill says. To counter that pressure, the act would require the US secretary of state to establish a mechanism to identify China-backed projects in those countries that pose strategic risks or involve nontransparent financing, and coordinate appropriate diplomatic or technical responses.
For the most part, Taiwan’s diplomatic allies have significant development needs. While many of the needs have been partially addressed by the International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF), the agency’s impact has been limited due to the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The TaiwanICDF maintains a strong presence through its technical missions on the ground, but lacks the capacity to implement large-scale projects across multiple countries simultaneously, which is why its USAID partnership is so vital.
“USAID provided the hardware, and we provided the software,” TaiwanICDF deputy secretary-general Hsieh Pei-fen (謝佩芬) once said. Both agencies emphasized knowledge transfer and socioeconomic development, but USAID had far greater financial capacity to deliver large-scale assistance and infrastructure projects.
China’s “dollar diplomacy” continues to be a powerful tool in flipping Taiwan’s allies. Beijing often pledges to fund major infrastructure projects under its Belt and Road Initiative, but in reality, these countries frequently find themselves saddled with unsustainable debt, losing effective control over the assets built under the program. Several countries that have switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing — including Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador — are estimated to owe China hundreds of millions of dollars each. That trend is deeply concerning for the US, not only because of the economic implications, but also the potential military risks. If debtor countries are unable to repay loans, Beijing could demand access to key infrastructure, including ports, potentially allowing the Chinese military to gain a foothold alarmingly close to US shores.
Taiwanese leaders have consistently acknowledged that they cannot financially match China. With Washington scaling back international aid, the US also finds itself in a weakened position to directly compete with China. However, rather than attempting to match China’s spending, the US could prioritize soft-power initiatives that foster trust and resilience, such as the construction or renovation of schools and hospitals, or the deployment of smart technologies. Taiwan is already engaged in many such efforts, providing training programs and technology transfers in the region. Washington could encourage recognition of Taipei over Beijing through favorable tariff agreements and other economic incentives. It might also emulate Taiwan’s successful model of soft diplomacy by offering scholarships to Latin American students to study in the US, helping to build lasting educational and cultural ties.
It is imperative that the government continue to emphasize to its diplomatic allies that switching recognition to Beijing could lead them down a path of economic dependency and authoritarian influence — one that could ultimately undermine their long-term development and sovereignty.
China has not been a top-tier issue for much of the second Trump administration. Instead, Trump has focused considerable energy on Ukraine, Israel, Iran, and defending America’s borders. At home, Trump has been busy passing an overhaul to America’s tax system, deporting unlawful immigrants, and targeting his political enemies. More recently, he has been consumed by the fallout of a political scandal involving his past relationship with a disgraced sex offender. When the administration has focused on China, there has not been a consistent throughline in its approach or its public statements. This lack of overarching narrative likely reflects a combination
US President Donald Trump’s alleged request that Taiwanese President William Lai (賴清德) not stop in New York while traveling to three of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, after his administration also rescheduled a visit to Washington by the minister of national defense, sets an unwise precedent and risks locking the US into a trajectory of either direct conflict with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) or capitulation to it over Taiwan. Taiwanese authorities have said that no plans to request a stopover in the US had been submitted to Washington, but Trump shared a direct call with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平)
Heavy rains over the past week have overwhelmed southern and central Taiwan, with flooding, landslides, road closures, damage to property and the evacuations of thousands of people. Schools and offices were closed in some areas due to the deluge throughout the week. The heavy downpours brought by the southwest monsoon are a second blow to a region still recovering from last month’s Typhoon Danas. Strong winds and significant rain from the storm inflicted more than NT$2.6 billion (US$86.6 million) in agricultural losses, and damaged more than 23,000 roofs and a record high of nearly 2,500 utility poles, causing power outages. As
The greatest pressure Taiwan has faced in negotiations stems from its continuously growing trade surplus with the US. Taiwan’s trade surplus with the US reached an unprecedented high last year, surging by 54.6 percent from the previous year and placing it among the top six countries with which the US has a trade deficit. The figures became Washington’s primary reason for adopting its firm stance and demanding substantial concessions from Taipei, which put Taiwan at somewhat of a disadvantage at the negotiating table. Taiwan’s most crucial bargaining chip is undoubtedly its key position in the global semiconductor supply chain, which led
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