You must be aware that Taiwan and China call themselves as separate entities right now but China opposes it and claims Taiwan to be its own land under the “one-china” policy. Now, we have a new development in this regards and the report comes from Honduras as they have decided to shift their ties from Taiwan to China. It is known that any country can have ties with either China or Taiwan due to their conflict. It was seen that Honduras supported Taiwan instead of China earlier due to their own reasons and it was a major boost for Taiwan who could Honduras as their ally.
However, Honduras has now decided to shift its ties from Taiwan to China and this action has resulted in Taiwan taking a counter-action. Taiwan has ordered its ambassador back from Honduras and its embassy will also be closed in the country due to this decision. Taiwan will now only be left with 13 countries who they have formal ties with and who they can call as their allies. This is also a part of China’s strategy to win over other countries and shift their allegiance from Taiwan to China. With this, China is one step close to its One-China policy’s implementation because a country without allies will eventually have to surrender.
Having said that, we know that US already supports Taiwan but they don’t have any formal ties with the country. China’s foreign minister said, “We welcome the Honduran government’s positive statement to develop relations with China. We are ready to establish and develop bilateral relations on the basis of equality and mutual respect,”. He also refuted rumors about Honduras asking for a $2.5 billion aid to Taiwan which they declined after which they shifted ties to China.
It is also interesting to note that ever since the Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen took oath, she has already lost 9 of Taiwan’s allies to China which could be seen as a major issue for Taiwan against China. She will step down as the Taiwanese President next year after the end of her second term which will also see an election year where Taiwan will choose their next President.
