2023-04-25 05:37:03
Guatemalan President, Alejandro Giammatteipledged on Tuesday to remain Taiwan’s “solid diplomatic ally” during a visit to the democratically-ruled island that has generated Chinese reviews.
The ruler, who arrived on Monday for a four-day visit, defended his relations with Taiwan at a welcome ceremony in Taipei.
“Rest assured that Guatemala will continue to stand by the Republic of Taiwan as a solid diplomatic ally and will deepen relations in all areas,” he said.
Guatemala is one of the few countries that still recognize Taiwan, a list that has been shortened in recent years by Beijing’s attempt to isolate Taipei internationally.
China considers Taiwan as part of its territory and does not accept that other countries maintain simultaneous diplomatic relations with Beijing and Taipei.
Giammattei said that his visit reaffirms Guatemala’s support for “Taiwan’s aspirations to participate as a sovereign nation in the global community of countries.”
Opportunities for cooperation
The Taiwanese president thanked Giammattei for his support at the ceremony.
“I hope our countries will deepen their relations and explore more opportunities for cooperation on this visit,” Tsai said.
Giammattei is scheduled to speak before the Taiwanese Parliament and visit a technology company in Taichung. He will also have to participate in an event to promote Guatemalan coffee, according to Tsai’s office.
The president visited Guatemala and Belize weeks ago to strengthen relations with her last two Central American allies following Honduras broke with Taiwan in March and allied with China.
On her way back to Taipei, Tsai stopped over in the United States to meet with Kevin McCarthy, Speaker of the House of Representatives.
In response, China held three days of war exercises in which it simulated attacking and blockading the island.
Beijing warned Monday that recognizing China, a key economic partner for the Central American nation, was “in line with Guatemala’s fundamental interests and the aspirations of its people.”
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that it had detected nine planes and 11 Chinese military ships around the island in the past 24 hours.
Latin America has been a contested terrain since Taiwan and China parted ways in 1949, at the end of the Chinese civil war.
Beijing has spent decades convincing Taipei’s diplomatic allies to switch sides, wresting nine from it since Tsai came to power in 2016.
Taiwan’s relations with Paraguay are at risk. Opposition candidate Efraín Alegre has said that if he wins the April 30 elections he will reassess relations with Taiwan.
* With information from the AFP agency.
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