Panama cuts ties with Taiwan in favour of China

International Desk: Panama has cut long-standing diplomatic ties with Taiwan and established relations with China instead.

The government said it recognised there was "only one China" and that it considers Taiwan part of it.

Taiwan expressed "anger and regret" and accused Panama of "bullying".
China regards Taiwan as a breakaway province. A handful of countries maintain ties with Taipei instead of Beijing, and Panama is the latest to have switched sides.

In December last year, the African island of Sao Tome and Principe made a similar move. Now only 20 countries have diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

In recent years China has intensified its economic investment into the Central American country - home of the economically vital Panama Canal.

Taiwan's foreign ministry said in a statement that it "expresses anger and regret" over what it called a "very unfriendly" diplomatic turn by Panama that "yielded to economic interests by the Beijing authorities".

It accused Panama of "bullying" Taiwan while "ignoring the many years of friendship" between the two countries, and added it "will not compete with the Beijing authorities for money diplomacy".

It was as recently as June last year that Taiwan's leader Tsai Ing-wen visited Panama, on her first overseas trip as president.

Source: Agencies
 

risingbd/Dhaka/June 13, 2017/A K Azad