Chinese offers of money for infrastructure projects and the wish to divert the Panamanian public’s attention from domestic affairs were the main reasons for the nation’s abrupt decision to switch recognition from the Republic of China (ROC) to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), sources said.
Taiwan on Tuesday cut diplomatic ties with Panama after the Central American country switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing earlier on the same day.
The large amount of Chinese investment on the table played a significant role in Panama’s decision, a source said, adding that Juan Carlos Varela — a businessman before entering politics — places heavy emphasis on commerce and profits.
Photo: AFP
Over the past three years, China has invested US$25 billion into various public infrastructure projects in the nation, and in just the past three months has offered loans worth more than US$8 billion, the source said.
In comparison, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs only has an annual budget of NT$24 billion (US$789.97 million), the source said, adding that while the ministry had offered to step up cooperation in education and medical facilities, the scale of the projects were incomparable with China’s.
The Panamanian government had not asked Taiwan to increase the scale of its aid over the past two years, a source said.
Panama switched recognition despite repeatedly assuring Taiwan that there were no such plans, sources said.
Taiwan reportedly received information that Panama was “engaged in political talks with China,” but the Taiwanese embassy in Panama later assessed that the nation was, at that time, in the early stages of its negotiations with China, the sources said.
Taiwanese in Panama informed the Taiwanese embassy 48 hours before the Panamanian government’s official announcement that Panama was preparing an important media announcement and that it might be about switching recognition to Beijing.
Despite the Taiwanese embassy repeatedly urging the Panamanian government to confirm the allegation, the Panamanian government at the time staunchly denied it was planning to do so, the sources said.
Panamanian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Luis Miguel Hincapie at the time told the embassy “he was not aware of such announcements,” the source said.
However, Hincapie was one of only four people in the whole of Panama to know about the planned switch, the sources said, adding that the other three were Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela, Panamanian Vice President Isabel Saint Malo and an unidentified administrative staff member.
The embassy, after receiving official notice from the Panamanian government of its intention to switch recognition only 40 minutes before the announcement, asked the president of the Panamenista Party, Jose Luis Varela — Juan Carlos Varela’s brother — to telephone the president to try and persuade the him to change his mind, the source said.
Ten minutes before the Panamanian government’s official announcement, Jose Varela called back to say that there was no way to do so, the source said.
The source surmised that Juan Carlos Varela was seeking to deflect attention from domestic politics due to recent policy flops, which have reportedly seen his approval ratings plunge.
There are up to 300,000 ethnic Chinese in Panama, comprising of 8 percent of President Varela’s voting base, the source said.
There are only about 300 Taiwanese businessmen and embassy staff in Panama, the source said.
FIVE-YEAR WINDOW? A defense institute CEO said a timeline for a potential Chinese invasion was based on expected ‘tough measures’ when Xi Jinping seeks a new term Most Taiwanese are willing to defend the nation against a Chinese attack, but the majority believe Beijing is unlikely to invade within the next five years, a poll showed yesterday. The poll carried out last month was commissioned by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a Taipei-based think tank, and released ahead of Double Ten National Day today, when President William Lai (賴清德) is to deliver a speech. China maintains a near-daily military presence around Taiwan and has held three rounds of war games in the past two years. CIA Director William Burns last year said that Chinese President Xi Jinping
RISK REMAINS: An official said that with the US presidential elections so close, it is unclear if China would hold war games or keep its reaction to angry words The Ministry of National Defense said it was “on alert” as it detected a Chinese aircraft carrier group to Taiwan’s south yesterday amid concerns in Taiwan about the possibility of a new round of Chinese war games. The ministry said in a statement that a Chinese navy group led by the carrier Liaoning had entered waters near the Bashi Channel, which connects the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean and separates Taiwan from the Philippines. It said the carrier group was expected to enter the Western Pacific. The military is keeping a close watch on developments and “exercising an
REACTION TO LAI: A former US official said William Lai took a step toward stability with his National Day speech and the question was how Beijing would respond US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday warned China against taking any “provocative” action on Taiwan after Beijing’s reaction to President William Lai’s (賴清德) speech on Double Ten National Day on Thursday. Blinken, speaking in Laos after an ASEAN East Asia Summit, called the speech by Lai, in which he vowed to “resist annexation,” a “regular exercise.” “China should not use it in any fashion as a pretext for provocative actions,” Blinken told reporters. “On the contrary, we want to reinforce — and many other countries want to reinforce — the imperative of preserving the status quo, and neither party taking any
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said that China has “no right to represent Taiwan,” but stressed that the nation was willing to work with Beijing on issues of mutual interest. “The Republic of China has already put down roots in Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu,” Lai said in his first Double Ten National Day address outside the Presidential Office Building in Taipei. “And the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China [PRC] are not subordinate to each other.” “The People’s Republic of China has no right to represent Taiwan,” he said at the event marking the 113th National Day of
RSS