Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said Nicaragua’s decision to cut ties was part of a deliberate Chinese plan, which felt threatened by a US-led democracy conference.
Joe Biden hosted a democratic conference on December 9, in which more than 100 countries participated, including Taiwan.
China and Russia were not deliberately invited, as the US had said it was removing ideologies.
“When the democratic countries held the democratic conference, China was shut out, China was the victim, so China chose this opportunity to start identifying its allies,” Reuters quoted Taiwanese Wu as saying next to the 2021 Taiwan-US-Japan. Trilateral Indo-Pacific Security Dialogue conference in Taipei on Tuesday.
Nicaragua, one of the nine Taiwanese suppliers left in Latin America and the Caribbean, last week switched to Beijing, recognizing the ‘Chinese government’ policy of the Chinese government.
It is the eighth country to sever ties with Taipei since Tsai Ing-wen was elected president in 2016.
Beijing views Taiwan as part of its territory. It has gradually won over Taipei’s partners over the years, leaving the island country with only 14 official partners.
“Losing a partner can be devastating. We have all done our best to maintain a legal relationship but to no avail, ”said UU.
Nicaragua first severed ties with Taiwan in 1985, but it was re-established on the island in 1990.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said the island nation would not compromise or change its determination to support democracy and freedom.
“If Taiwan’s democracy succeeds, it will strengthen international support, as well as pressure from the military camp,” he said in Taipei.
One China’s policy is to acknowledge the fact that there is only one Chinese government.