TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Former Japanese Ambassador to Paraguay Nakatani Yoshie says Beijing attempted to use COVID vaccines to coerce Asuncion into dropping diplomatic ties with Taipei.
In an interview with Sankei Shimbun published on Thursday, Nakatani said that during the pandemic, China exerted intense pressure on Paraguay using vaccine diplomacy. She said that at the time, China prioritized vaccine distribution to countries that had diplomatic relations with Beijing, leaving Paraguay with one of the lowest vaccination rates in the world.
Nakatani said China offered to supply Paraguay with relatively inexpensive Chinese-made vaccines, but on the condition that Paraguay sever its diplomatic ties with Taiwan. The Paraguayan government firmly rejected this demand.
The former ambassador explained that China shifted its pressure tactics to Paraguay’s department governments. Although some governors wanted to purchase Chinese-made vaccines, regulations required procurement to be handled through the central government, preventing these purchases.
Meanwhile, large-scale anti-government protests erupted in Paraguay, with demonstrators chanting slogans such as, "The president is not protecting the lives of the Paraguayan people. He can't even get the vaccines. We need to change this government that is disregarding the lives of its citizens." The protests were so widespread that even foreign diplomats feared the Paraguayan government might collapse, said Nakatani.
However, Paraguay ultimately weathered the crisis without yielding to China and obtained vaccines from Chile and other countries. This success moved Nakatani to say, “Paraguay is a truly admirable country.”
Nakatani also spoke about her cooperation with Taiwanese diplomats, saying that one of the privileges of serving as an ambassador to Paraguay was the opportunity to befriend Taiwan’s ambassador. She pointed out that only 12 countries recognize Taiwan, meaning there are only 12 formal ambassadors.
She described Taiwan's diplomats as “exceptionally talented, with outstanding intelligence-gathering and analytical skills.” When China aggressively pressured Paraguay using vaccine diplomacy, Nakatani said she had many discussions with US and Taiwanese ambassadors to explore ways to support Paraguay and prevent it from establishing diplomatic ties with China just to obtain COVID vaccines.
Since vaccines were not immediately available, the US provided medical supplies and set up beds and tents for makeshift medical facilities through its military. She said Taiwan also contributed by supplying medical supplies and oxygen tanks.
Nakatani said Japan collaborated with UNICEF to provide large-scale refrigeration facilities for vaccine storage and supported human resource training in areas such as vaccine management and immunization programs. Ultimately, Japan, the US, and Taiwan coordinated their efforts to support strengthening Paraguay’s healthcare system, which was “a diplomatic initiative unique to Paraguay,” concluded the former ambassador.
