Panama’s President Verela asks US to ‘respect decision’ to switch diplomatic ties from Taiwan to Beijing
‘We respect the sovereign decisions of other countries and we will always ask the same respect for ours’
Panama’s President Juan Carlos Varela on Sunday asked the United States to respect his country’s sovereignty after the US recalled its envoys from three regional countries for switching diplomatic ties from Taiwan to Beijing.
“We respect the sovereign decisions of other countries and we will always ask the same respect for ours,” Varela said in a statement.
The United States on Friday recalled its envoys from El Salvador and the Dominican Republic, as well as its charge d’affaires from Panama, to protest the diplomatic switch.
Those countries have said their decision reflected simple economic realities – big, fast-growing China has been spending billions to build ports, rail lines and other projects across Latin America.
Taiwan and China have been engaged for years in a diplomatic tug of war in developing countries, with aid and economic support often used as bargaining chips to gain diplomatic recognition.