Foreign Ministry official Yeh De-guey says that Taiwan’s relations with its Latin American and Caribbean allies remain stable. Yeh said that’s despite a recent summit between representatives from the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and Chinese officials held in January.
Twelve of Taiwan’s 22 diplomatic allies are members of CELAC. Speaking Thursday, Yeh said that the allies that chose to send representatives to the summit had informed Taiwan of their decision beforehand. He also said that representatives from these allies, all of them government ministers, promised to keep discussions with Chinese officials limited to matters of trade.
Yeh said that the foreign ministry cannot verify the claims of one Taiwanese academic that future summits will see heads of state in attendance. Yeh said that the only thing that is clear is that China has failed to live up to the promises of loans it made to CELAC member countries during January’s summit.
Yeh said that a visit from Honduras’ president expected later in the year and plans for St. Lucia to build its first Asian embassy in Taipei demonstrate the strength of Taiwan’s relations with its allies.