The United States is trying to discourage Honduras from following through on its plan to switch diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to China, sources close to the matter say, hoping the lack of a formal agreement yet may leave the door open for a change of heart. The ongoing U.S. diplomatic pressure comes after Honduran President Xiomara Castro said on Tuesday her country would establish formal ties with China, following up on a pledge she made in her presidential campaign in 2021. Then, in 2022, her government appeared to walk back the policy. Officials and former officials from the U.S. and several Central American countries said Castro's provisional announcement contrasted with how countries in Latin America have tended to make public shifts in alliance from China to Taiwan. 'We truly don't know whether it will be days or weeks or months,' a U.S. government official told Reuters on background. 'Is it a negotiating tactic? We don't know for sure, but we will continue to make our case.' Since 2016, when Tsai Ing-wen was elected Taiwan's president, Panama, El Salvador and most recently, Nicaragua, have changed sides. All announced the switch as a fait accompli.
the policy. Officials and former officials from the U.S. and several Central American countries said Castro's provisional announcement contrasted with how countries in Latin America have tended to make public shifts in alliance from China to Taiwan. "We truly don't know whether it will be days or weeks or months," a U.S. government official told Reuters on background. "Is it a negotiating tactic? We don't know for sure, but we will continue to make our case.
In another unusual turn, Honduras' ambassador to Taiwan, Harold Burgos, met with Taiwanese foreign ministry officials on Wednesday after Castro's announcement, something which Nicaragua's ambassador had declined to do during her country's switch in 2021, two diplomatic sources in Taipei said.
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