Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei has said that his country would keep its diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
The pledge came after Beijing has in the past few years increased its attempt to poach Taiwan’s allies amid heightened cross-strait tensions.
Guatemala is the biggest country that recognizes Taiwan instead of China, Giammattei said during an interview with LatAm Investor, a UK-based Latin America-focused investment magazine.
Screen grab from Twitter
“We are the biggest country they [Taiwan] still have left, and we will remain with Taiwan,” Giammattei said during the interview, which was published on Thursday. “So while I am president, I recognize one China and it is called Taiwan.”
Giammattei assumed office in January 2020. He cannot seek re-election, as the Guatemalan constitution does not allow a president to serve multiple four-year terms.
Giammattei’s reaffirmation came only days after Guatemalan Minister of Foreign Affairs Mario Bucano expressed the same stance in an interview published on Wednesday in Japan’s Nikkei daily.
“For us, relationships with the United States and with Taiwan are our keys,” Bucano said. “We will continue to have them at all levels.”
“We want peace in the [Asia-Pacific] region, sovereignty of the people of Taiwan and territorial integrity. And we will continue to support Taiwan in its endeavor,” he said.
Guatemala is one of 14 countries that recognizes Taipei instead of Beijing. It established formal ties with the Republic of China in 1935, making it one of Taipei’s oldest allies.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shared Giammattei’s interview with LatAm Investor on Twitter and thanked him for his support.
“We sincerely thank the president of Guatemala for spotlighting the strength of our bilateral ties & contributions of Taiwan to the Central American country’s national development & the international community,” the ministry wrote.
Since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) assumed office in May 2016, Taiwan has lost eight diplomatic allies to China — Burkina Faso, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Kiribati, Nicaragua, Panama, Sao Tome and Principe, and the Solomon Islands.
Deteriorating relations between Taipei and Beijing are widely seen as the reason for this trend. Beijing is suspected of offering Taiwan’s allies economic benefits for switching recognition.
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