Taiwan 'open' to restoring Honduras ties

Taipei, Aug. 18 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said on Sunday that Taiwan is open to "any opportunity" to enhance ties with Honduras, after an Honduran opposition leader suggested re-establishing ties with Taipei if elected president next year.

In a press statement, MOFA said it continues to uphold "honesty and openness" when engaging with countries around the world including Honduras, a former diplomatic ally of Taiwan.

"[Taiwan] will not set any preconditions for establishing relations with a foreign country and has always taken seriously any opportunity to elevate its international status and expand its global presence," the statement said.

MOFA's comments came as a response to remarks made on Saturday by the Central American country's former vice president, Salvador Nasralla, who proposed re-recognizing Taiwan.

In an interview with local Radio station América on Saturday, Nasralla, who served as Honduran first vice president from 2022 until his resignation in early 2024, pledged that if he won the 2025 elections, he would re-establish diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (ROC), Taiwan's official name.

"We will return to a relationship with China Taiwan," he said, referring to Taiwan.

Honduras cut ties with Taipei in 2023 in order to establish diplomatic relations with Beijing.

In the interview, Nasralla expressed opposition to the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that the current Honduran government intends to sign with China.

"Our trade with China does not need an FTA and these quadrupeds of the government led by [Manuel] Mel Zelaya are handing over the national territory to a power taking advantage of the ignorance of the people who govern the country today," he said.

Zelaya, a former Honduran president, is the husband and main advisor to Xiomara Castro, the country's sitting president.

The opposition leader also said Honduras and the People's Republic of China (PRC) have enjoyed an "unfavorable trade balance" since forming ties in March 2023.

The ending of diplomatic ties with Taiwan cost Honduras 8,000 jobs directly and 50,000 jobs indirectly in the shrimp industry alone, the former vice president said.

During an Aug. 15 post made on X (formerly Twitter), Nasralla also criticized the Castro administration for its ongoing FTA talks with the PRC.

"Mainland China makes huge promises that in the end it does not fulfill, as Costa Rica, Panama and El Salvador have already proven," he said, pointing to three of Taiwan's former allies in the region.

In contrast, Honduras was able to enjoy stable shrimp exports to "our friends in Taiwan," he added.

Citing Nasralla's Aug. 15 social media post, MOFA in its Sunday statement accused the PRC of having never fulfilled the promises it has made to Taiwan's former allies in Latin America, including Honduras.

As part of its so-called "one-China principle," the PRC insists that any country wishing to establish diplomatic ties with Beijing must discontinue diplomatic relations with Taipei.

Since former President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) first took office in May 2016, Taiwan has lost 10 diplomatic allies to the PRC.

The most recent ally to switch sides was the Pacific island country of Nauru, which did so on Jan. 15, leaving Taiwan with 12 diplomatic allies worldwide.