Honduras establishes diplomatic ties with China after ditching Taiwan

China established diplomatic ties with Honduras on Sunday after the Central American country severed ties with Taiwan, while Taiwan’s foreign minister accused Honduras of demanding too much money before being kicked out by Beijing.

The end of ties with Taiwan had been expected after Honduras’ foreign minister traveled to China last week to open ties and President Xiomara Castro said her government would resume ties with Beijing.

China said its foreign minister, Qin Gang, and Honduran Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina signed an agreement on diplomatic recognition in Beijing, ending ties with Taiwan dating back to the 1940s.

In a brief statement on Saturday, the Honduran Foreign Minister said it recognizes the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate government representing all of China and that Taiwan is an “inalienable part of China’s territory.”

China claims to democratically rule Taiwan as its own territory with no right to interstate relations, a position strongly denied by Taipei. China is demanding the countries with which it has relations to recognize the position.

Taiwan blasts Beijing for ‘luring’ Honduras

Speaking in Taipei, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said Castro, who took office early last year, and his government had “always been delusional” about China and had never stopped “luring” China.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the embassies seized the relevant information and handled it carefully. However, the Castro government also asked us for billions of dollars in economic assistance and compared the prices for the assistance programs provided by Taiwan and China,” said Wu.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said in a video statement that Taiwan will not compete with China in “useless” dollar diplomacy.

“The people of Taiwan have proven to the world that we never cower from threats. Taiwan’s cooperation and links with allies and like-minded countries to jointly promote international prosperity and security will only increase, not decrease,” he said.

Qin told Reina Honduras companies were invited to China to discuss trade and investment, while Reina said Honduras is willing to strengthen cooperation with China in finance, trade and infrastructure, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China said in a statement.

Reina wrote to Taiwan this month asking for nearly $2.5 billion in aid, including a $2 billion loan to help with debt relief as well as funds for the construction of hospitals and dams, according to a copy of the letter seen by Reuters. The letter referred to Wu as a “friend.”

“It feels like what they want is money, not a hospital,” Wu told reporters.

‘Highly Suspicious’ Time

Tsai will leave on a sensitive visit to the United States, Guatemala and Belize on Wednesday. He is expected to meet US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles at the end of the trip.

Wu said he was “very suspicious” of the timing of Honduras’ decision so close to Tsai’s overseas tour.

“China seems to be doing this on purpose,” he said.

The United States has watched with concern as China expands its footprint in the backyard by taking out its ally Taiwan in Central America, and has repeatedly warned countries not to trust China’s promises of aid.

The US State Department said that while Honduras’ actions were a sovereign decision, it is important to note that China “often makes promises in exchange for diplomatic recognition that ultimately remain unfulfilled.”

“Regardless of Honduras’ decision, the United States will continue to enhance and expand our engagement with Taiwan,” he said in a statement.

Relations between Honduras and Taiwan date back to 1941 when the government of the Republic of China, which retains the official name of Taiwan, remained in China before fleeing the island in 1949 after losing a civil war with communist Mao Zedong.

Taiwan currently only has formal diplomatic relations with 13 countries, most of them poor and developing countries in Central America, the Caribbean and the Pacific.