TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — If it had not been for interference by China, Taiwan would have opened an embassy in Argentina, Vice Foreign Minister Alexander Yui (俞大㵢) said in an interview published by news site Infobae.
His comments came amid recent moves by Honduras to end its more than 80 years of diplomatic relations with Taiwan in favor of opening ties with Beijing. Yui pointed out that China’s efforts were marked by broken promises linked to projects that include a canal between the Atlantic and the Pacific in Nicaragua, and airports and harbors in El Salvador.
In contrast, Taiwan has recently become an important partner for Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Mexico in the fields of economy, culture, science and technology, Yui told the Spanish-language news service Tuesday (March 21).
He said that if Taiwan wanted to open an embassy in Buenos Aires, it would not ask Argentina to end diplomatic relations with China, per UDN. The Latin American country could manage relations with both China and Taiwan simultaneously, Yui said.
However, Beijing would not allow this, but instead it would try to isolate Taiwan. Each country needed to consider whether this kind of demand was just, Yui said in the interview.
He pointed out how China’s efforts were failing, as more important government officials and lawmakers from many countries were standing up to Chinese protests and visiting Taiwan.
The vice minister also underlined how the country stood as part of the first line of resistance against China’s authoritarian regime, with the war in Ukraine showing how it would not be easy for a larger country to invade and force the submission of a smaller democracy. He added that Taiwan would do its utmost to avoid a war, and called on other countries to help prevent a Chinese attack.
