Why does Central America still love Taiwan?
A new WikiLeaks cable sheds some light on the surprisingly interesting topic (no, really!) of Panama-China relations: Panama is one of only a few countries that recognize Taiwan and therefore forgo relations with its neighbor and traditional rival China. The Feb. 23, 2010-dated cable from then U.S. Ambassador to Panama Barbara Stephenson came in the ...
A new WikiLeaks cable sheds some light on the surprisingly interesting topic (no, really!) of Panama-China relations:
A new WikiLeaks cable sheds some light on the surprisingly interesting topic (no, really!) of Panama-China relations:
Panama is one of only a few countries that recognize Taiwan and therefore forgo relations with its neighbor and traditional rival China.
The Feb. 23, 2010-dated cable from then U.S. Ambassador to Panama Barbara Stephenson came in the midst of President Ma Ying-jeou’s efforts to improve ties with China. The cable was released May 8.
Stephenson wrote in the cable that Martinelli had told her in May 2009, the month he won national elections by a landslide, that he would recognize Beijing because "he thought that Panama’s business community would benefit as a result."
Stephenson said Martinelli’s high hopes were dashed when his Foreign Minister Juan Carlos Varela was told by Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi during an Asia visit in January 2010 that Beijing would not take on Panama to avoid foiling warming cross-strait ties.
The U.S. transferred its recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979 and the People’s Republic has occupied the "China" seat at the United Nations since 1971. But there are a number of countries who maintain formal relations with Taiwan. According to Wikpedia, they are:
Belize
Burkina Faso,
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
Gambia
Guatemala
Haiti
Honduras
Kiribati
Marshall Islands
Nauru
Nicaragua
Palau
Panama
Paraguay
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
São Tomé and Príncipe
Solomon Islands
Swaziland
Tuvalu
Vatican City
Pacific islands like Nauru clearly like being wooed by a Taiwanese government desperate for increased international legitimacy in any form it might take and the Vatican’s anti-Beijing position makes sense.
But what’s with Central America?
According to this article, "Between 2000 and 2004, the volume of trade between Taiwan and the Central American and Caribbean region amounted to 3.3 billion dollars." That doesn’t seem like quite enough to keep the world’s second largest economy from winning these countries over if it wanted to. It seems like there’s a combination of inertia and indifference from Beijing at work here. Haiti’s non-recognition of Beijing didn’t stop China from sending post-earthquake aid, for instance.
Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating
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