TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan is offering aid to its lone Central American diplomatic ally, Guatemala, as it attempts to stave off efforts by China to win away its last remaining partners.
During a meeting Thursday with his visiting Guatemalan counterpart Bernardo Arevalo, President Lai Ching-te said the two countries would “strengthen exchanges and cooperation as well as scholarship programs for young people, provide training for high-tech and information and communication talents.so as to push forward prosperity and development.”
Arevalo identified public health, education, agriculture, technology and infrastructure as key areas where Guatemala was seeking to increase its capacity.
”In the future, we shall continue to strengthen bilateral relations based on the solid foundations built in the past,” the president said.
Such assistance is key as Taiwan attempts to hold the line against advances by China, which typically offers big-ticket items such as highways, railways and stadiums to lure away Taiwan’s allies, often expecting repayment at market rates.
Winning over Taiwan’s allies brings China closer to its goal of diplomatically isolating Taiwan in order to demoralize the population and aid Beijing in its goal of “peacefully unifying” with the island it claims as its own territory.
Taiwan’s offerings tend to be more modest and pragmatic, largely because it is a parliamentary democracy where all such spending must be approved by the legislature. It also offers the model of a functioning democracy in a world increasingly leaning toward hardline authoritarian regimes.
Still, China has steadily reduced the number of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies to just 12 after launching campaigns in the Caribbean and Central America to win over countries such as Peru.
