The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday reaffirmed Taiwan’s ties with Guatemala after Reuters on Monday reported that the Central American nation is considering establishing formal trade relations with China.
“We are going to continue working with Taiwan at the levels we have been doing,” Guatemalan Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Ramiro Martinez told Reuters. “But the president has pointed out that we cannot ignore the weight and power China represents.”
“We are interested in approaching them [China] to try and develop some relationship around trade,” Martinez said, adding that an “office of trade interests” could be formed that would assist in finding a market in China for Guatemalan products.
Photo: Yang Yao-ru, Taipei Times
“We are making it public, this is not an ambush against Taiwan or the United States,” Martinez added.
In Taipei, foreign ministry deputy spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) yesterday told a regular news briefing that Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo has publicly expressed support for his country’s diplomatic relations with Taiwan on multiple occasions, during his election campaign and after winning last year’s election.
When Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) visited Guatemala to attend Arevalo’s inauguration on Jan. 14, Arevalo told him that he would maintain the diplomatic ties between the two sides and wished to bolster cooperation with Taiwan, Hsiao said.
The ministry would continue to deepen cooperation and exchanges between Taiwan and Guatemala, working with Arevalo’s administration to solidify the nations’ long-term diplomatic ties and pursue the greatest well-being for their people, he said.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) yesterday told Reuters that it “is hoped that the new government of Guatemala will respond to the historical and contemporary trend and make a correct decision as soon as possible that is in the fundamental and long-term interests of the Guatemalan nation and people.”
In other news, South Korean Ambassador to China Chung Jae-ho underlined the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, which the ministry yesterday said reflects international consensus.
Chung told reporters at the South Korean embassy in Beijing on Monday that “South Korea respects the ‘one China’ principle and will enhance substantive cooperation with Taiwan in various fields based on the principle,” South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported.
“South Korea hopes to see peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait be maintained and cross-strait relations develop in a peaceful and stable manner,” he added.
The assertion is in line with a statement made by South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials issued after Taiwan’s presidential and legislative elections on Jan. 13, Yonhap said.
In Taipei, Hsiao yesterday said that South Korea, the US and other like-minded countries have issued joint statements on multiple occasions in bilateral and multilateral arenas to reaffirm the importance of cross-strait peace and stability.
The statements reflect these countries’ determination to prevent the expansion of authoritarianism, he said.
The ministry thanked like-minded countries for taking a firm stance and voicing support for the nation, he said.
Taiwan would not provoke, nor act rashly or yield to pressure, and would continue to cooperate with like-minded countries to safeguard regional peace and stability, he said.
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