Bipartisan Senate group praises Guatemala for sticking with Taiwan

A bipartisan group of senators is praising Guatemala’s newly sworn-in President Bernardo Arevalo for maintaining diplomatic ties with Taiwan, as Guatemala’s diplomatic allies increasingly choose to maintain ties with China.

Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) sent a letter to Arevalo on Thursday congratulating Guatemala on its continued relationship with Taiwan.

“In the face of increasing state coercion and economic inducement, [Chinese Communist Party (CCP)] “Guatemala’s steadfast commitment to maintaining formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan stands as a beacon of courage and integrity for several democracies around the world,” they wrote.

Only 12 countries in the world maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which communist China claims as an independent province.

Due to the Chinese Communist Party’s “One China” policy, each country must choose whether to set up its embassy in Beijing or Taipei. The Chinese government will not establish direct diplomatic relations with countries that choose the latter option.

The conflict dates back to 1949, when the Chinese Nationalist Party fled to Taiwan after being defeated on the battlefield by Mao Zedong’s Communist Party.

At the time, the United States and its allies (mainly in the Indo-Pacific and the Americas) maintained relations with nationalist governments and kept communists at bay, but in 1972 relations between the United States and China began to thaw, and then This led to the president’s decision. In 1979, diplomatic relations were restored with the People’s Republic of China.

Over the past 45 years, many US allies have followed suit, often drawn to Beijing’s trade and investment promises, despite encouragement from the US to remain by Taiwan’s side.

In addition to Rubio and Merkley, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), John Boozman (R-Arkansas), and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Mont.) also joined. Miss) warned Mr. Arevalo that Communist China’s promises were not working.

“Also, despite promises and commitments made by the Chinese Communist Party to other countries that have recently established diplomatic relations with China, foreign direct investment from China to Latin America has averaged $14.2 billion annually since 2019. “We also note that this has decreased by more than half from ‘2022 to more than $7 billion,'” they wrote.

“Dozens of projects have been financed or contracted to Chinese companies, including Costa Rica’s highway network announced in 2019, Nicaragua’s canals announced in 2013, and Colombia’s ‘dry canal’ project announced in 2011. remains unfinished or not even started.

The last country to switch diplomatic relations from Taiwan to China was the Pacific island nation of Nauru, which, like its neighbors, has sought to reduce U.S. influence in the region and become a target for China as a base for expanding its sphere of influence. It has become.

After Honduras severed diplomatic relations last March, the only two Central American countries remaining on Taiwan’s diplomatic list are Guatemala and Belize.

China’s “dollar diplomacy” has curried favor with left-leaning countries in Latin America such as Nicaragua and those that openly oppose U.S. influence, while Panama and the Dominican Republic, which moved their embassies to Beijing in 2017, The United States was also drawn in. and in 2018 respectively.

And China remains on the offensive.

Earlier this month, the country warned Arevalo that bilateral trade relations depended on Guatemala breaking with Taiwan “as soon as possible.”

Arevalo, an anti-corruption reformer who orchestrated a surprise victory and took office in January, has called for moving Guatemala closer to mainland China but said he has no intention of abandoning Taiwan.

But arevalo He told Reuters earlier this month. Guatemala has said it does not “choose” relations with both Taipei and China, regardless of the “one China” policy.

“Guatemala’s unwavering commitment to maintaining formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan stands as a beacon of courage and integrity in the face of increasing coercion and economic coercion by the Chinese Communist Party against several democracies around the world.” wrote the senators.

“By reaffirming this relationship, Guatemala has strengthened its loyalty to democratic values ​​and the bonds of solidarity between nations committed to democracy, freedom, human rights and respect for the rule of law.”