TEGUSIGALPA, Honduras — Honduran President Xiomara Castro announced Tuesday that her government will seek to establish diplomatic relations with China, which would mean severing ties with Taiwan.
Castro said on her Twitter account that she had instructed Honduran Foreign Minister Eduardo Reyna to begin negotiations with China and that her intention was to “expand the borders with freedom.”
Honduras is one of Taiwan’s few allies, and Castro’s announcement marks a shift in his diplomatic outlook.
Taiwan’s official Central News Agency quoted an unidentified Foreign Ministry official as saying they were “in the process of clarifying the situation” and had no further details.
China claims self-governing, democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and views diplomatic recognition of the island as interference in its affairs. Beijing has diplomatically isolated Taiwan with a long campaign against such recognition as part of its “one China” policy.
In January 2022, the foreign minister told the Associated Press that Honduras would continue to strengthen ties with Taiwan and that establishing diplomatic relations with China was not a priority for Castro.
It is unclear what made the government change its mind.
