Honduras Switches Diplomatic Relations To Beijing In Blow To Taipei

Honduras' President Xiomara Castro has confirmed that she has instructed her Foreign Minister Eduardo Reina to establish official relations with China, ending the country's diplomatic ties to Taiwan and reducing the pool of nations that recognise Taiwan to 13. The Honduran gov'ts decision comes at an important point for Taiwan as President Tsai Ing-wen plans to embark on a high-profile visit to Central America. The trip will include a layover in the US state of California where she plans to meet with Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).

• Tsai's trip, especially the talks with McCarthy, has the notable prospect of raising an angry response from Beijing. Chen Chin-kung, deputy head of Taiwan's National Security Bureau, said on 15 March that he "absolutely did not rule out" retaliatory action from Beijing around the time of Tsai's trip, taking place in April.
• The Taiwanese gov't has warned leftist Castro administration in Honduras against falling into 'China's trap'. However, the country is set to join a slew of other LatAm states that have switched their stances towards Bejing in recent years - Costa Rica (in 2007), Panama (2017), El Salvador (2018) and Nicaragua (2021) - leaving just Guatemala and Paraguay recognising Taiwan. The Paraguayan opposition has stated that it will change its recognition towards Beijing if it wins elections later this year.