Taiwan lost Nicaragua as a diplomatic ally after the Central American country said it would officially recognize only China, which claims self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory.
"There is only one China," the Nicaraguan government said in a statement Thursday announcing the change. "The People’s Republic of China is the only legitimate government that represents all China, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory."
"As of today, Nicaragua breaks its diplomatic relations with Taiwan and ceases to have any official contact or relationship,” it added.
The move increases Taiwan's diplomatic isolation on the international stage, even as the self-governed island steps up official exchanges with countries like Lithuania and Slovakia, which do not formally recognize Taiwan as a country. Now, Taipei has 14 diplomatic allies remaining.
"What is most important to Taiwan is the number of countries with which it maintains diplomatic relations,” said Jason Marczak, director of the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center, in an email. "In Central America, Nicaragua is now the third country that has switched recognition from Taiwan to China in the last four years. I wouldn’t be surprised if more are to come.”
Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed "sadness and regret” and said it would immediately recall its diplomatic staff.
"The more successful Taiwan’s democracy, and the greater the international support, then the greater the pressure from the authoritarian camp,” Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen said Friday in response. "Whether it’s diplomatic pressure or military intimidation, we will not change our determination to adhere to democracy and freedom, to go on the international stage and participate.”
China has been poaching Taiwan’s diplomatic allies over the past few years, cutting down the number of countries that recognize the democratic island as a sovereign nation. China is against Taiwan representing itself in global forums or in diplomacy. The Solomon Islands chose to recognize China in 2019, cutting diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
The Nicaraguan government signed an official communique to re-establish diplomatic ties with China in Tianjin on Friday, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. Under the agreement, Nicaragua promises not to have any official contact with Taiwan going forward.
"This is the right choice that is in line with the global trend and has people’s support. China highly appreciates this decision,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
"We won yet another beautiful battle,” China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian wrote on his personal Weibo account while sharing a video of Nicaragua's Foreign Minister Denis Moncada Colindres reading the statement saying that Taiwan is an "inalienable” part of China.
Zhao called the change part of "an irresistible trend.”
Some experts say the switch is not necessarily a significant loss for Taiwan and that it may only have been a matter of time. Taiwan has been increasing its exchanges with Western countries and has emphasized the sharing of democratic values and working with "like-minded” nations.
"Everyone could see early on that this diplomatic relationship couldn’t be kept,” said Antonio C. Hsiang, a professor at La Academia Nacional de Estudios Y Estrategicos in Chile and an expert on Taiwan's relations in Latin America.
Taiwan's emphasis on democratic values stands in contrast to many of the countries' diplomatic allies, such as Nicaragua or Honduras.
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega was reelected in November in what the White House called a "pantomime election.”
"The arbitrary imprisonment of nearly 40 opposition figures since May, including seven potential presidential candidates, and the blocking of political parties from participation rigged the outcome well before election day,” said U.S. President Joe Biden in a statement in November in response to Ortega’s election.
The U.S. State Department also weighed in on the diplomatic switch on Friday, saying in a statement that "Ortega’s actions cannot reflect the will of the Nicaraguan people, who continue to struggle for democracy and the ability to exercise their human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
"We do know, however, that this deprives Nicaragua's people of a steadfast partner in its democratic and economic growth," spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement. "We encourage all countries that value democratic institutions, transparency, the rule of law, and promoting economic prosperity for their citizens to expand engagement with Taiwan."
Honduras, meanwhile, faces rampant corruption in the central government. President Juan Orlando Hernandez faces allegations of ties to drug traffickers, according to U.S. federal prosecutors in New York. His brother was arrested in Miami in 2018 by U.S. authorities on suspicion of drug trafficking.
Hsiang, the professor, said he viewed the diplomatic break as a response to the growing Taiwan-Lithuania relationship, as well as Taiwan's invitation to Biden's Summit for Democracy, which is being held this week.
Nicaragua established diplomatic relations with Taiwan in the 1990s, when President Violeta Chamorro assumed power after defeating Ortega’s Sandinista regime at the polls. Ortega, who has just been reelected for a fourth consecutive presidential term since returning to power in 2007, had maintained close ties with Taipei until now.
Jessica Drun, an expert at the Atlantic Council, said Taiwan will likely be unruffled by the loss of another diplomatic ally.
"I personally believe that Taiwan's unofficial relationships are more critical than its official ones," she told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Timothy S. Rich, a scholar at Western Kentucky University who studies Taiwan's diplomatic relations, said people should not "overstate the importance" of Nicaragua's switch.
"Taiwan has effectively blurred the distinction between official and unofficial relations with many countries, including most democracies, in that Taiwan gets most of the benefits of diplomatic relations in practice," he told AFP.
