Nicaragua is switching diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing, in a move that reduces the number of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies to 14 nations and underscores the escalating campaign from Beijing to isolate the country.
Nicaragua on Thursday said it would sever its long-standing diplomatic relations with Taiwan and recognise the government in Beijing as the sole seat of power in China. The move follows a separate recent pledge from Xiomara Castro, the incoming president in Honduras, to switch recognition to Beijing.
“The People’s Republic of China is the only legitimate government that represents all of China and Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory,” Nicaragua’s foreign ministry said in a statement cited by Reuters.
China is increasingly putting economic and other forms of pressure on the remaining countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a country off the coast of mainland China over which Beijing claims sovereignty.
Beijing is currently trying to economically squeeze Lithuania, which this year allowed Taiwan to open up a representative office – a de facto embassy – in the capital of Vilnius.
The White House and state department did not immediately comment.
The shift by Nicaragua comes as Taiwan also endures increasing direct pressure from Beijing. The Chinese military has this year sent fighter jets and bombers into Taiwan’s “air defence identification zone”, a safety buffer zone, with increasing frequency and in greater numbers.
Last month, President Joe Biden discussed Taiwan with Xi Jinping in a virtual meeting. The Chinese leader warned Biden that any nation that backed or enabled independence for Taiwan would be “playing with fire”.
The US maintains a “one China” policy under which it recognises Beijing as the sole seat of power in China. But the Biden administration has taken a number of steps to increase unofficial engagements between the countries, which has sparked angry responses from the government in Beijing.
