On Monday, April 30th, the Dominican Republic published a communiqué with China that shows the rupture with the Asian country

Leer en español: ¿Cuáles países Latinoamericanos cancelan relaciones diplomáticas con Taiwán?

For Taiwan (officially Republic of China), the diplomatic relationship with Central America has been one of the most important for its political recognition in front of different international organizations. There were 23 states that recognized Taiwan for 2008, 12 of which were from Latin America and the Caribbean. Today there are only 19 countries that recognize the Asian island, 10 in Latin America, after the recent decision of the Dominican Republic to break diplomatic ties with Taiwan, after Panama and Costa Rica did so.

Latin America and the Caribbean seems to have gained interest in an ally difficult to ignore: China, whose political condition for establishing relations is not to recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state, because Beijing considers Taipei as a renegade province. It also happens vice versa, the Asian giant has recently made decisions that indicate interest in the Caribbean countries. These are the countries of Latin America that have cut off their relationship with Taiwan to open the doors to China:

• Costa Rica:

The first Central American country to break ties with Taiwan to establish relations with China was Costa Rica in 2006, when President Oscar Arias recognized the People's Republic of China as the sole representative of China. Costa Rica has a Free Trade Agreement with the Asian giant, so that products manufactured with Chinese capital have preferential access in the US market.

Similarly, China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC) has plans to invest in Costa Rica important capital for the expansion of the road linking San Jose with the Caribbean. China's benefits in Costa Rica also include a $ 300 million non-reimbursable loan, and the redevelopment of Chinatown in the capital.

• Panama:

In June 2017, Panama cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan, hiding in the economic benefits that China would bring to the Caribbean country. "The People's Republic of China is a State that alone represents 20% of the world population and is the second largest economy in the world," said President Juan Carlos Varela.

Recently, Xi Jinping visited Panama for the first time, a region of great attraction for the Asian giant, mainly because of geopolitical interest rather than economic, experts say. There is talk of an ambitious project called the Silk Road, which consists of extending the commercial passage of China towards Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America; and Panama is the key to execute the trade route.

• Dominican Republic:

On Monday, April 30, 2018, the Dominican Republic published a communiqué with China that manifests the diplomatic break with Taiwan. Trade between the Dominican Republic and China has been strengthened in such a way that it is currently the second supplier of imports from the Caribbean country. "The government of the People's Republic of China is the only legitimate government that represents all of China and Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory," said the statement that shows the rupture of diplomatic relations with Taiwan and strengthening its commercial relationship with Beijing.

China has also left aside its ideological differences and has shown flexibility to exert its influence in other countries of Central America without having broken ties with Taiwan. An example of this is Honduras, where the Chinese company Synohydro has invested in important dams but continues to recognize Taiwan. Another shared territory is Nicaragua, where the Chinese company Xinwei invested billions in wireless networks for telephone communication, and at the same time, "half of the public buildings in Nicaragua were paid by Taiwan," says expert Colin Alexander, author of book "China and Taiwan in Central America".

Taiwan's main partner was Central America, but now there seems to be a change of direction with China's growing influence in Latin America, which could lead to a domino effect among the Caribbean countries. While China seeks to establish itself in these small countries by geographical interest, with its easy access to the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean; Taiwan struggles to win the diplomatic and political support of those who are its main pawns before international organizations.

Latin American Post | María de los Ángeles Rubio

Translated from "¿Cuáles países Latinoamericanos cancelan relaciones diplomáticas con Taiwán?"