Honduras severs diplomatic ties with Taiwan, finds ally in China

“The government of the Republic of Honduras recognizes the existence of one China in the world and that the government of the People’s Republic of China represents China as a whole,” its ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement on Saturday, local time, as quoted by CNN.

“Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory and as of today, the government of Honduras has informed Taiwan about the rupture of diplomatic relations,” it added.

Taiwan reacts:

Soon after Honduras made the announcement, Taiwan's Foreign Minister said: " By sending Foreign Minister Reina to China to discuss the establishment of diplomatic relations, the government of Honduras is disregarding the diplomatic friendship between Taiwan and Honduras that has endured for over 80 years."

"Honduras is also ignoring the achievements of the long-standing cooperation between our nations, as well as Taiwan’s goodwill in providing assistance to help solve Honduras’s problems," read the statement.

"These actions seriously hurt the feelings of the government and people of Taiwan. The Taiwan government has therefore decided to recall its ambassador to Honduras with immediate effect to express its strong dissatisfaction," it said.

What is the basis of China’s claim over Taiwan?

The basis of China’s claim over Taiwan dates back to 1945 when Japan lost its control over the island in 1945,post-World War Two. The 1949 Chinese civil war lead to communists taking control and Chiang Kai-shek the one who lost fled to Taiwan. He ruled it for many decades. This is where China’s claim to Taiwan emanates. The very fact that Chiang Kai-shek came to Taiwan and was not indigenous to the place is Taiwan’s argument against the claim.

The question is why is Taiwan important to China?

“A lot of things actually, which of course are related to Taiwan but not necessarily direct to Taiwan. It's more about (China's) relationship changing with United States – or we should say Western Countries, mainly United States and China. Taiwan then happens to become key player and main actor in this dynamics,” said Alice.

100 miles from the coast of China, Taiwan is an island, that is located in the “first island chain,” this positioning makes it crucial to the US foreign policy.

US-Sino relations hinge on, ‘One China Policy,’ it acknowledges that, “there is only one Chinese Government." The US recognises its formal ties with China. With Taiwan the US shares independent strong “unofficial” relations.