Taiwan is willing to assist Honduras, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, in response to speculation that the ally would switch diplomatic ties to China because Taiwan did not increase financial support.
Honduran President Xiomara Castro on Tuesday wrote on Twitter that her country would pursue diplomatic ties with China, but did not mention whether it would sever ties with Taiwan.
A day later, Honduran Minister of Foreign Affairs Eduardo Enrique Reina told TV network Canal 5 that the decision to pursue diplomatic relations with China was motivated by “pragmatism, not ideology.”
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Honduras asked Taiwan to double its annual aid of US$50 million to the country and explore ways to “realign” its US$600 million debt to Taiwan, but did not receive a positive response, he said.
Its domestic and foreign debt amounts to US$20 billion, which is “up to its neck,” he said, adding that it forces Honduras “to make the decision.”
In Taipei, the ministry said in a statement that Taiwan had been discussing cooperative projects with Honduras since Castro took office in January last year.
The government has repeatedly expressed willingness to assist the ally in promoting construction and development within Taiwan’s capabilities, and reminded it not to heed China’s “false promises,” it said.
“Taiwan has always responded positively to Honduras’ proposals and expressed our sincerity to assist Honduras within our capabilities out of goodwill,” it said.
Reina’s statement did not reflect the truth of the communication between the two sides, it said, adding that Taiwan’s effort to communicate with Honduras has never stopped.
Taiwan would do its best to maintain diplomatic relations with Honduras, but it would never enter a “spending competition” with China, the ministry said.
The ministry said Honduras should not to “quench its thirst with poison and end up falling into a Chinese debt trap.”
The ministry also dismissed reports that Honduras’ move might be related to President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) plan to stop over in the US early next month on the way to visit Guatemala and Belize.
It is a fundamental right of Taiwan as a sovereign country to arrange such a trip for its president, and others “have no right to and shouldn’t give reckless judgement,” ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) told a regular news briefing.
The government is preparing the trip as originally planned, he said.
The US Department of State said Honduras should be aware that China makes many promises that would remain unfulfilled.
It is monitoring the situation closely, it added.
“We encourage all countries to expand engagement with Taiwan and continue to stand on the side of good governance, transparency and the rule of law,” a state department spokesperson said.
Taiwan is an important partner of the US and a trustworthy partner to the world, the spokesperson said, adding that the US would continue to deepen and expand exchanges with Taiwan according to its long-term policy.
Additional reporting by CNA
COMBINING FORCES: The 66th Marine Brigade would support the 202nd Military Police Command in its defense of Taipei against ‘decapitation strikes,’ a source said The Marine Corps has deployed more than 100 soldiers and officers of the 66th Marine Brigade to Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) as part of an effort to bolster defenses around the capital, a source with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. Two weeks ago, a military source said that the Ministry of National Defense ordered the Marine Corps to increase soldier deployments in the Taipei area. The 66th Marine Brigade has been tasked with protecting key areas in Taipei, with the 202nd Military Police Command also continuing to defend the capital. That came after a 2017 decision by the ministry to station
‘INVESTMENT’: Rubio and Arevalo said they discussed the value of democracy, and Rubio thanked the president for Guatemala’s strong diplomatic relationship with Taiwan Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Guatemala City on Wednesday where they signed a deal for Guatemala to accept migrants deported from the US, while Rubio commended Guatemala for its support for Taiwan and said the US would do all it can to facilitate greater Taiwanese investment in Guatemala. Under the migrant agreement announced by Arevalo, the deportees would be returned to their home countries at US expense. It is the second deportation deal that Rubio has reached during a Central America trip that has been focused mainly on immigration. Arevalo said his
‘SOVEREIGN AI’: As of Nov. 19 last year, Taiwan was globally ranked No. 11 for having computing power of 103 petaflops. The governments wants to achieve 1,200 by 2029 The government would intensify efforts to bolster its “Sovereign Artificial Intelligence [AI]” program by setting a goal of elevating the nation’s collective computing power in the public and private sectors to 1,200 peta floating points per second (petaflops) by 2029, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The goal was set to fulfill President William Lai’s (賴清德) vision of turning Taiwan into an “AI island.” Sovereign AI refers to a nation’s capabilities to produce AI using its own infrastructure, data, workforce and business networks. One petaflop allows 1 trillion calculations per second. As of Nov. 19 last year, Taiwan was globally ranked No. 11 for
Israel yesterday said it has begun preparations for the departure of large numbers of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip in line with US President Donald Trump’s plan for the territory, while Egypt has launched a diplomatic blitz behind the scenes to try and head off the plan. The Trump administration has already dialed back aspects of the proposal after it was widely rejected internationally, saying the relocation of Palestinians would be temporary. US officials have provided few details about how or when the plan would be carried out. Trump yesterday said that Israel would turn Gaza over to the US after the
RSS