“We have time and again told Honduras Taiwan is a true and reliable partner of its allies, and our government will assist Honduras to exercise its national development projects in every possible way within our capability,” it said.
Honduras’ foreign ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the possibility of a diplomatic switch.
Chinese ambassador to Mexico Zhang Run said on Twitter that Honduras had made the correct decision.
Signs of the country’s possible shift in ties surfaced in January when Honduran Foreign Minister Enrique Reina met mainland Chinese vice-foreign minister Xie Feng.
According to a report from the Honduran newspaper La Prensa, Reina met Xie while the two were in Brasília for the inauguration of Brazilian President Lula da Silva.
Reina later explained that their talks related to Beijing’s potential construction of a hydroelectric dam in Honduras and had nothing to do with diplomatic issues.
Taiwan expressed grave concerns over the meeting and hit out at Beijing for allegedly offering “false promises” to Taipei’s allies, with the sole purpose of minimising the island’s international presence.
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‘There’s only one China’: Nicaragua ends diplomatic ties with Taipei, switches to Beijing
Last month, Reina reaffirmed ties with Taiwan, saying the talks with Beijing concerned loans for the hydroelectric dam and that relations with Taiwan would be maintained, according to the Honduran newspaper La Tribuna.
“What we are looking for, in this vision of creating more energy capacities for the country, is for (China) to finance Patuca II,” he said, referring to the hydropower project.
Beijing, which sees Taiwan as part of its territory that must be taken under control, by force if necessary, has long sought to isolate the diplomatic island internationally by winning over countries that maintain official ties with Taipei.
It has also ramped up pressure on Taiwan by intensifying its military operations near the island.
