The Government of Honduras has officially announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which had existed since 1941. The announcement comes eleven days after Honduran President Xiomara Castro ordered her Foreign Minister to establish diplomatic relations with China as part of her government plan.
The foreign ministers of Honduras and China have signed a “Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Relations between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Honduras,” which formalizes the ties between the two nations. The news has been regretted by Taiwan, which has expressed its sadness for the end of “82 years of friendship and cooperation.” The Honduran foreign minister has traveled to China to continue efforts to open relations with the Asian giant, which has led to the withdrawal of the Taiwanese ambassador in Tegucigalpa.
Taiwan’s foreign minister has expressed his “deep dissatisfaction” with the trip of his Honduran counterpart, which “seriously hurts the feelings of the Taiwanese people.” According to unofficial sources, Honduras had asked Taiwan for US$2 billion to restructure its foreign debt and possibly a hospital.
Honduras and Taiwan have a relationship of military, educational, and economic cooperation. Honduras’ severing of relations with Taiwan reduces to 13 the number of countries with which Taipei maintains official diplomatic relations and makes the Central American nation the ninth country (and fifth Latin American) since 2016, when it cut ties with the island to establish ties with China. This decision has generated divisions in the country.