Nicaragua Ends Relations With Taiwan, Opens Up With China

The US has condemned the move even though Washington has no formal relations with Taipei

Nicaragua announced Thursday that it severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan and opened up with China.

“The People’s Republic of China is the only legitimate government representing all of China and Taiwan is an undoubted part of the Chinese territory,” Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Denis Moncada said in a televised announcement.

The move came after Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega secured his fourth term in an election the US claimed was a “sham” and responded to with fresh sanctions. Even though the US has no formal relations with Taiwan and recognizes Beijing’s one-China policy, Washington still condemned Nicaragua’s move.

“The Ortega-Murillo decision to end its relationship and contacts with Taiwan moves Nicaragua even further away from the international community of democratic societies,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said. “Taiwan is a reliable partner and friend to countries throughout the region.”

The move leaves only 13 nations and the Vatican as diplomatic partners of Taiwan. Over the past few years, several countries have ended relations with Taipei, including El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Burkina Faso, and the Solomon Islands.

Honduras’ newly elected leftist leader, Xiomara Castro, has floated the idea of shifting relations to Beijing, but an official in her Libre Party has said the incoming government does not plan to make the change. “President-elect Xiomara Castro has been clear, these ties will be maintained. Nobody in the party wants to enter government distancing ourselves from the United States,” the official said.

While the US doesn’t have formal relations with Taiwan, Washington has been taking steps to boost ties with Taipei and is encouraging other countries to do the same. Nicaragua’s announcement coincided with President Biden’s so-called “Summit for Democracy,” which Taiwanese officials participated in, angering Beijing.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.