Nicaragua breaks with Taiwan, recognizes Beijing-led “one China”

Published on : 12/10/2021 – 07:52

Nicaragua announced, Thursday, December 9, the severance of its diplomatic relations with Taiwan and the recognition of “one China” led by Beijing, reducing to fourteen the number of countries recognizing the democratic island.

“The People’s Republic of China is the sole legitimate government that represents all of China, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory,” Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Denis Moncada said in a statement. The government of President Daniel Ortega “from today breaks diplomatic relations with Taiwan and ceases any type of official contact or relationship,” he added.

The Taiwanese Foreign Ministry expressed “heartfelt pain and regret.”

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For its part, the Chinese ministry confirmed the establishment of diplomatic relations during a meeting between delegations of the two countries in Tianjin. “This is a good choice, in line with the general trends and aspirations of the people. China warmly welcomes it,” the ministry said.

American sanctions against Daniel Ortega

As the United States and China go through a period of great tension, Washington reacted to this rupture by calling on all democratic countries to “increase their ties with Taiwan”.

This rupture “deprives the people of Nicaragua of a loyal partner for their democratic and economic growth,” lamented the US State Department in a statement. “We encourage all countries that value democratic institutions, transparency, the rule of law and the promotion of economic prosperity for their citizens to increase their ties with Taiwan.”

Announced by surprise, this decision also comes at a time when Washington has tightened its sanctions against Daniel Ortega, re-elected in November for a fourth consecutive term after having imprisoned all his rivals.

Taiwan has hitherto cooperated with Nicaragua mainly in the areas of health, agriculture and social housing, and several Taiwanese companies have been established in the Central American country since the 1990s.

When he came to power in 2007, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, a former Marxist guerrilla from the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), expressed the hope of establishing links with China and Taiwan at the same time, a concept Beijing does not want to hear about.

Nicaragua had established relations with Beijing during the first Sandinista government (1979-1990), but the government of Violeta Chamorro (1990-1997) then severed them in favor of Taiwan, a situation which continued until Thursday.

Few concrete effects for Taipei

According to Oscar René Vargas, founder of the Center for Studies of National Reality in Managua, this rupture could be the consequence of American sanctions. Fearing to be isolated, Daniel Ortega seeks to obtain “the political support of China”, explained to AFP Oscar René Vargas.

Only fourteen countries now recognize Taiwan, where Chinese nationalist troops took refuge in 1949 after their defeat by the Communists. Beijing considers the island to be a rebellious province which must eventually be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary.

The loss of Nicaragua as a formal ally will have little concrete effect for Taipei, said Timothy S. Rich, a Taiwan expert at Western Kentucky University.

“Taiwan has effectively blurred the line between official and unofficial relations with many countries, including most democracies, and in practice obtains most of the benefits that are derived from diplomatic relations,” he said. .

With AFP