Honduran rebuff of Taiwan strains regional geopolitics

TEGUCIGALPA (AP) – The Honduran government’s decision to shift its relations with Taiwan to begin a full rapprochement with China has been received as another example of the Asian giant’s growing influence in Latin America, with tensions rising between China and the United States. background states.

Honduran Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina explained on Wednesday that the change in position is motivated by the Central American country’s economic needs and its intention to attract more investment and financing from the Asian giant, knowing that China has pumped millions of dollars of money for decades into infrastructure projects in Latin American countries.

The diplomatic overhaul of Honduras in favor of China is the second foreign policy goal scored by the People’s Republic of China after its role in restoring diplomatic relations a week ago between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

The Honduran Foreign Minister argued that the priority given to China is supported by the possibility that this nation offers to contribute to the progress of the Central American country. With Taiwan, he said, there has been a “positive historical relationship”, but “we see that unfortunately the relationship has not allowed us to move towards other opportunities for greater growth and investment. “, he told The Associated Press.

“President (Xiomara) Castro, based on this in-depth analysis that has been made, taking into account that China is one of the largest countries in the world and one of the most important economies, is looking for the opportunities that serve development,” he reiterated. . This is something the president had in mind since before she was president, as she announced during the 2021 election campaign, but which had not been a priority until now.

In this regard, the Taiwan Embassy in Honduras, in an official statement, said that it continues to maintain a “brotherly friendship” with the Central American country, which it has supported for 82 years to achieve its sustainable development.

Reina justified that Honduras is a country with many problems from an economic point of view, with many financial needs and a lack of social development. And with his decision to move away from Taiwan, he is now following in the footsteps of El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic.

This position has been questioned by Honduran analysts because of the repercussions it could have on the country’s relations with the United States, an ally of Taiwan, which for years has unsuccessfully encouraged the countries of the region remain aligned with Taiwan and not with China. The Asian giant has always defended that Taiwan was under its control, while claiming its own sovereignty.

Foreign Minister Reina rules out that the decision is necessarily interpreted as a nefarious strategy and recalls that there are more than 171 countries in the world that are linked to the United States and mainland China, including most of the ‘Latin America.

In Central America, only Belize, Guatemala and, so far, Honduras do not.

“The United States continues to have a relationship with China, like many nations, I believe that the United States must understand and respect the needs of Honduras and the decisions that we make in a sovereign manner,” reflected the minister. Honduran Foreign Minister before AP.

But for David Castrillon-Kerrigan, professor and researcher specializing in China at the Externado de Colombia University, the Honduran decision means that the United States “definitely lose influence on all fronts, particularly economic, but also diplomatic, political and cultural. those.” against the Asian giant. “For countries like Honduras, not recognizing the government in Beijing means losing opportunities,” says Castrillon-Kerrigan.

Even so, Guatemala and Paraguay stepped forward to ratify that they would maintain their position of support for Taiwan. “The Republic of China (Taiwan), a nation with which we have excellent politico-diplomatic relations and a solid friendship, is for Guatemala the only and true China, with which we are bound by close historical ties and fraternity. “, he announced. the Guatemalan government on Wednesday.

Paraguay, in the same line, defended that “for a long time, we were the only ones in South America to maintain relations with Taiwan; we are moving forward on the basis of principles and values ​​shared with Taiwan,” Foreign Minister Julio Arriola said of China’s advance in the region.

The Beijing government has spent two decades injecting resources into Latin American countries through investment projects in the infrastructure and energy sectors, a strategy that has helped it gain a stronger position. influence and increase the support of allied countries.

Between 2005 and 2020, $130 billion in Chinese capital flowed into the region, according to the US Institute of Peace. But in addition, trade between the two parties has progressed so much that it should reach 700,000 million in 2035. An economic boost which the United States has not been able to keep up with.

In Honduras, specifically, Chinese investment took shape with the construction of a hydroelectric dam, built by the Chinese state Sinohydro for $300 million funded by the Chinese government.

The flip side of all this injection of money from China into Latin America, as has also happened in Africa, is that the resources have been coupled with high levels of public debt by the countries and the projects built by Chinese companies then maintain commitments such as repair and maintenance with themselves, which increases the final bill for projects.

“In a poco como el vendedor de drogas que le dice a un potencial consumidor que la primera dosis es gratis”, compared June Teufel, docente de Ciencias Políticas de la Universidad de Miami, quien relaciona esa strategia de inversion como une specie de arma diplomática from China. “He got another country to give up Taiwan, something he’s wanted for a long time: to deprive Taiwan of all of its remaining allies.”