Belize Reaffirms Its Supports for Taiwan as a Sovereign State

On Tuesday, the President of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, announced that her government will seek to establish diplomatic relations with China, implying that the nation intends to severe its diplomatic relations with Taiwan. The switch would leave Taiwan recognized by only thirteen countries, one of them being Belize. And, if there are any doubts as to where Belize stands on the matter, the Government of Belize issued a release today declaring its continued recognition of the Republic of China, Taiwan, as a sovereign and independent state. The release says, “Belize and Taiwan will work to strengthen their cordial bilateral relations based on shared values, the respect for the rule of law, democracy and human rights, and mutual interest”. When the press caught up with Kareem Musa, the Minister of Home Affairs, this morning he was asked for his thoughts.

Kareem Musa

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs

“That is certainly above my pay grade. Let’s start there. But, we continue to enjoy a very healthy and productive relationship with Taiwan. They have been huge friends and huge, huge allies of Belize for quite some time now, I believe since the eighties. And so, that is not even something that is up for consideration at this time. They are our friends and our allies, and we completely respect them. Um, there is this, uh, shift that is take taking place across the world, but,  as far as I am aware, no types of discussions like that is happening with our Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They are, they are certainly sticking with Taiwan.”

It is worth noting that Belize and Guatemala are the only two countries in Central America that still recognize the sovereignty of Taiwan.