A senior envoy of US President Joe Biden is to travel to Honduras and Panama this month, the US Department of State said on Thursday, two days after Honduras said it would establish formal diplomatic ties with Beijing, stoking concern that it might cut ties with Taipei.
US Special Presidential Adviser for the Americas Chris Dodd would visit the two Central American countries from yesterday to Tuesday, the department said in a statement.
The US has in the past few years focused on migration and security challenges stemming from Central America, as well as trade and development priorities, but it has also been concerned about Chinese efforts to expand its influence in the region.
Photo: AFP
Dodd, a former US senator, is to meet Honduran officials and private-sector representatives, and Panamanian officials and finance leaders, as well as attend an annual conference of the Inter-American Development Bank.
“These visits advance the commitment of the United States to foster inclusive economic growth, democracy, human rights and rule of law in the western hemisphere,” the department said.
Dodd in 2021 led a delegation to visit Taiwan on behalf of Biden, with whom he has a close relationship.
On Tuesday, Honduran President Xiomara Castro wrote on Twitter that her administration would seek diplomatic ties with Beijing, which would come at the expense of Taiwan.
Honduran Minister of Foreign Affairs Eduardo Enrique Reina on Wednesday said that the pivot to China was partly because Honduras was “up to its neck” in financial challenges and debt, including US$600 million it owes Taiwan.
Speaking to reporters in Taipei yesterday, Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) reiterated a warning to Honduras not to trust China and its monetary offers.
“China has been suppressing Taiwan’s diplomacy, so it will invest funds related to specific countries in order to block Taiwan’s diplomatic development,” he said.
Chinese investment as part of its Belt and Road Initiative in these countries had mostly failed, Chen said.
“Therefore, we very much hope that Honduras can recognize the true nature of China, and hope they maintain diplomatic relations and not be deceived,” he added.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is still “working hard” regarding the ties with Honduras, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) told a legislative hearing yesterday.
The nation has never given up on anything for being too difficult, he said, but added that “we will not engage in bidding-war diplomacy with China.”
China on Thursday denied that former Taiwan allies, such as Panama and El Salvador, had not benefited since forging relations with Beijing, saying they had received “tangible benefits.”
Taiwan has 13 UN-recognized diplomatic allies, including Honduras, as well as Somaliland.
Asked about the Honduras-Taiwan ties, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Taiwan has a “lot to offer.”
“Taiwan has a lot to offer, including ... in international institutions, where remarkably talented people have tremendous experience and expertise,” he said. “Countries have to decide for themselves whether and how they want to benefit from that.”
Additional reporting by Wu Su-wei and Su Yung-yao
UPDATED (3:40pm): A suspected gas explosion at a shopping mall in Taichung this morning has killed four people and injured 20 others, as emergency responders continue to investigate. The explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Situn District (西屯) at 11:33am. One person was declared dead at the scene, while three people were declared deceased later after receiving emergency treatment. Another 20 people sustained major or minor injuries. The Taichung Fire Bureau said it received a report of the explosion at 11:33am and sent rescuers to respond. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, it said. The National Fire
ACCOUNTABILITY: The incident, which occured at a Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store in Taichung, was allegedly caused by a gas explosion on the 12th floor Shin Kong Group (新光集團) president Richard Wu (吳昕陽) yesterday said the company would take responsibility for an apparent gas explosion that resulted in four deaths and 26 injuries at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Zhonggang Store in Taichung yesterday. The Taichung Fire Bureau at 11:33am yesterday received a report saying that people were injured after an explosion at the department store on Section 3 of Taiwan Boulevard in Taichung’s Situn District (西屯). It sent 56 ambulances and 136 paramedics to the site, with the people injured sent to Cheng Ching Hospital’s Chung Kang Branch, Wuri Lin Shin Hospital, Taichung Veterans General Hospital or Chung
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘LAWFUL USE’: The last time a US warship transited the Taiwan Strait was on Oct. 20 last year, and this week’s transit is the first of US President Donald Trump’s second term Two US military vessels transited the Taiwan Strait from Sunday through early yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement, the first such mission since US President Donald Trump took office last month. The two vessels sailed south through the Strait, the ministry said, adding that it closely monitored nearby airspace and waters at the time and observed nothing unusual. The ministry did not name the two vessels, but the US Navy identified them as the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and the Pathfinder-class survey ship USNS Bowditch. The ships carried out a north-to-south transit from
RSS