By Isabel Woodford and Gustavo Palencia
TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) – Honduran Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina said Wednesday the country’s decision to seek official relations with China and cut them with Taiwan was about “pragmatism, not ideology”.
Speaking on local television, Reina said Honduras, which is “up to its neck” in financial problems and debt, owed Taiwan some $600 million and that the issue of debt partly motivated Honduras’ decision to open relations with China.
He said Honduran officials were likely to meet their Chinese counterparts in the next few days to formalize the relationship.
“The global situation is complicated, we need to open up,” Reina said.
The decision was not taken lightly and involved conversations with the United States and allies in Asia, Reina added.
However, the move is likely to harm Honduras’ relationship with the United States’, Honduras’ top trade partner, Honduran lawmaker Tomas Zambrano said on local television. The U.S. State Department did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The decision from Honduras puts pressure on Taiwan ahead of a visit by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen to the United States and Central America.
China does not allow countries to hold diplomatic ties with itself and Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as its own territory with no right to state-to-state ties, which Taiwan disputes.
Honduran President Xiomara Castro had floated the idea of cutting ties with Taiwan and opening them with China during her presidential campaign, but said last year she hoped to maintain ties with Taiwan.
The decision to move away from Taiwan, announced by Castro on Tuesday evening, will leave the island with just a handful of diplomatic allies.
Honduras intends to keep trade ties with Taiwan, however, Reina added. The country is also looking to strengthen ties with Brazil, Mexico, the United States and others.
“We need investment, cooperation, and Honduras needs to be aggressive,” Reina said.
(Reporting by Isabel Woodford in Mexico City and Gustavo Palencia in Tegucigalpa; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Isabel Woodford and Angus MacSwan)
