Guatemala will ‘always support’ Taiwan

Guatemala’s Foreign Minister Mario Bucaro stressed in Taipei today that the Central American state will “always support” Taiwan, following China’s extensive military gymnasiums — the largest in its history — around the island earlier this month.

During a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen at her offices in Taipei, Mr. Bucaro assured that Guatemala and Taiwan are “same” countries, united by a “democratic alliance.”

Guatemala “will always support Taiwan because we have unshakable faith in the principles of peace, national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said the head of diplomacy for the government of President Alejandro Yamate (right).

“Peace is non-negotiable, and especially national sovereignty is also non-negotiable,” he continued.

Mr Bucaro did not mention China by name in his remarks. However, he pointed out that his visit to the island — which has its own government but which Beijing considers a breakaway Chinese province destined to rejoin the mainland in the future, by force if necessary — was intended to “send the world a message that it is important to show solidarity with the people of Taiwan”, with “the belief that only dialogue can provide a solution to any conflict”.

Guatemala’s foreign minister’s remarks come weeks after the Chinese military conducted large-scale live-fire drills around Taiwan amid anger over a visit earlier this month by the Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives of USA, Nancy Pelosi, on the island.

In her own remarks, President Tsai noted that Taiwan was the “first Asian country” visited by Mr Bucaro after taking office and thanked Guatemala for its diplomatic support.

Guatemala is one of only 14 countries in the world to maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and is also one of its three allies in Central America — the other two being Honduras and Belize.

In December, China re-established diplomatic relations with Nicaragua. Beijing does not hide its intention to reduce the number of states that recognize Taiwan to zero.

The issue has wider geopolitical ramifications. Among other things, the US government is concerned about the fact that China is intensifying efforts to increase its influence in Central America.

Ahead of last November’s elections in Honduras, a US delegation had emphasized that Washington wanted the Central American state to maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

The current president Xiomara Castro, who before the election had left open the possibility of severing Tegucigalpa’s relations with Taipei and restoring relations with Beijing, ultimately chose to leave the relationship with Taiwan intact.

SOURCE: AMPE