Nicaragua resumes ties with China, breaks with Taiwan
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
BEIJING • China and Nicaragua re-established diplomatic ties yesterday after the Central American country broke relations with Taiwan, in a move that boosted Beijing in a part of the world long considered the US' backyard and angered Washington.
China's Foreign Ministry, announcing the decision after meeting Nicaragua's Finance Minister and two of President Daniel Ortega's sons in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin, said the country had made the "correct choice".
The break with Taiwan shrinks the island's dwindling pool of international allies and is a blow to the United States. China regards Taiwan as a renegade province to be reunified, by force if necessary.
The move follows months of worsening ties between Mr Ortega and Washington, and came on the day the US State Department said it had applied sanctions on Mr Nestor Moncada Lau, a national security adviser to Mr Ortega, alleging he operates an import and customs fraud scheme to enrich members of Mr Ortega's government.
The US State Department said Nicaragua's decision did not reflect the will of the Nicaraguan people because its government was not freely elected.
"We do know, however, that this deprives Nicaragua's people of a steadfast partner in its democratic and economic growth," spokesman Ned Price said in a statement. "We encourage all countries that value democratic institutions, transparency, the rule of law, and promoting economic prosperity for their citizens to expand engagement with Taiwan."
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Taiwan's allies - now only 14 countries - have stayed with Taipei only because of pressure from the US and Taiwan's "dollar diplomacy", accusations Taipei denies.
Nicaragua's congress in 2019 accepted a US$100 million (S$137 million) loan from Taiwan, but Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said yesterday that money, designed for economic reconstruction, has never been paid because of "procedural issues with allocation requirements" by the bank, which it did not name.
China's Foreign Ministry, asked if China would give financial aid to Nicaragua, said the resumption in ties was a "political decision, definitely not a bargaining chip".
Taiwan's government said it was unbowed by Nicaragua's decision.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said the island would not bend to pressure or change the determination to uphold democracy and freedom and "march towards the world".
"The more successful Taiwan's democracy is, the stronger the international support, and the greater the pressure from the authoritarian camp," she said in Taipei.
A senior Taiwan official familiar with the matter told Reuters that the timing was "provocative", coming during the Biden administration's Summit for Democracy, which Taiwan is attending, and a week before four referendums on the island.
Mr Ortega first cut ties with Taiwan in 1985, but they were re-established with the island in 1990 under then Nicaraguan President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro.
One Taiwan-based diplomatic source, familiar with the region, said the move was not a surprise, given Washington's lack of leverage with Mr Ortega due to the sanctions, and that looking to China for aid and support was a natural course of action.
Attention will now turn to another Taiwan friend, Honduras.
Aides for incoming president Xiomara Castro have said she would not establish ties with China, backtracking from Ms Castro's earlier comments that she was open to starting formal relations with Beijing.
REUTERS
One Taiwan-based diplomatic source, familiar with the region, said the move was not a surprise, given Washington's lack of leverage with Mr Ortega due to the sanctions, and that looking to China for aid and support was a natural course of action.