Guatemala reaffirmed its support for Taiwan during a meeting between Guatemalan Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Ramiro Martinez and Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoko Kamikawa on Wednesday.
After attending President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration ceremony in Taiwan on Monday, Martinez’s delegation left for Japan on Wednesday.
Although Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo was unable to attend the ceremony personally, he requested a videoconference with Lai on Tuesday to convey his congratulations, Latin American and Caribbean Affairs Department Deputy Director-General Chang Tzu-hsin (張自信) told a regular news briefing.
Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office
Arevalo told Lai that he looked forward to further strengthening the friendship between Taiwan and Guatemala, he added.
Martinez and Kamikawa had a meeting on Wednesday for about 30 minutes, which was followed by a working dinner that lasted about 70 minutes, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The two foreign ministers exchanged views on cooperation in the international arena, including the situation in East Asia, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it said.
Martinez made particular mention of Taiwan, saying that “Guatemala’s support for Taiwan remains unchanged” and that next year would mark the 90th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two sides, it said.
Martinez’s visit to Japan drew attention from local media as Guatemala maintains diplomatic ties with Taiwan while other Central American nations Panama and Honduras have switched recognition from Taipei to Beijing in recent years, the Sankei Shimbun reported.
If Guatemala, which accounts for about half the population and economy of the 12 countries that officially recognize Taiwan, were to sever diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Taiwan’s “international presence would be cut in half,” the paper cited a senior official at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs as saying.
A decline in Taiwan’s international presence could have an impact on Japan’s security, which is why Japan attaches great importance to Guatemala, it said.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit to Paraguay, the only country in South America that recognizes Taiwan, earlier this month was due to a similar concern, it said.
Kishida and Paraguayan President Santiago Pena agreed during their meeting to cooperate in maintaining and strengthening a free and open international order, and voiced opposition to China’s attempt to unilaterally change the “status quo.”
Separately, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Saint Kitts and Nevis established diplomatic relations with Palau in the presence of Lai, the ministry said yesterday.
The two Taiwanese diplomatic allies in the Caribbean sent delegations to the nation to attend Lai’s inauguration ceremony on Monday and signed the documents with another of Taiwan’s allies during their visit, Chang said.
It is hoped that Taiwan could be the starting point for democracies around the world to work with and support each other to safeguard democracy and freedom, he said.
The US plans to deploy thousands of drones in the Taiwan Strait in an operation called “Hellscape” to ensure that any attempt by China to invade Taiwan does not succeed, US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo told the Washington Post. In an article published on Monday, columnist Josh Rogin quoted Paparo as saying from the sidelines of the recent Shangri-La Dialogue defense forum in Singapore that the “Hellscape” strategy would involve deploying thousands of uncrewed submarines, surface vessels and aerial vehicles around Taiwan to buy the nation, Washington and its partners time to assemble a response. The plan was devised to deter
CHINESE THREAT: Twenty-two military aircraft and vessels were detected around Taiwan over 24 hours, including a drone that flew as close as 80km to Oluanpi China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) yesterday said that the Chinese man who drove a motorboat into a strategic river mouth in Taiwan on Sunday was acting on his own and would be punished upon his return to China. However, the National Security Bureau said it would not exclude any possibilities regarding the man’s motivations, including the Chinese government’s involvement. The man has been identified as a 60-year-old former Chinese navy captain surnamed Ruan (阮). Coast guard personnel on Sunday arrested Ruan in New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水) after his boat entered Tamsui River (淡水河). The boat was detected off the coast of
SHIN KONG SHENANIGANS: Eugene Wu is the father of Cynthia Wu, who was the TPP’s vice presidential candidate alongside Chairman Ko-Wen-je in January’s election Former Shin Kong Life Insurance Co chairman Eugene Wu (吳東進) and several other company executives are being investigated for alleged embezzlement and fraud resulting in corporate financial losses of about NT$150 million (US$4.63 million), New Taipei City prosecutors said yesterday. After being summoned to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning, Wu was listed as among 17 suspects facing charges of aggravated breach of trust, embezzlement and breaches of the Insurance Act (保險法). Wu was released on bail of NT$100 million yesterday. The case has received much attention with Eugene Wu being the eldest son of Wu Ho-su (吳火獅), who founded Shin
REPORT: In a number of cases, Taiwanese have been detained or interrogated, the MAC said, while warning that Chinese authorities can from next month confiscate cellphones Taiwanese who are traveling to China for religious, business or other non-political purposes can all be interrogated by Chinese national security officers due to new national security laws, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in a recent report. Starting next month, Taiwanese could also be asked to hand over their mobile phones and electronic devices for national security inspections when visiting China, the council said. Beijing has introduced a series of laws that were designed to impose heavier sanctions on people who are considered enemies of the state. An amendment to China’s Anti-Espionage Law, which took effect in July last year, expanded