Taiwan dismisses concerns over diplomatic ties in Caribbean

Saturday, January 29, 2005

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP): Taiwan on Friday dismissed concerns over its diplomatic ties with Haiti and Dominican Republic in the wake of their Caribbean neighbor Grenada's recent defection to rival China.

"Our relations with Haiti and Dominican Republic are very stable but we will closely monitor China's moves aimed at our allies," foreign ministry spokesman Michel Lu told AFP.

Taipei severed diplomatic relations with Grenada late Thursday after receiving formal notification from the country that it opened official ties with Beijing a week ago.

"China intends to eliminate Taiwan in the international stage and it would do no good in improving cross-strait relations," he said.

Beijing had sent a special delegation to Haiti and the Dominican Republic in fresh attempts to lure away Taiwan's Caribbean allies, media reports said.

It also sent 125 police officers in September to war-torn Haiti, marking its first-ever deployment of riot police abroad in concert with a peacekeeping mission of the United Nations.

The United Nations ousted Taiwan to accept China as a member in 1971, and Beijing has since considered the island part of its territory awaiting reunification -- opposing other countries' efforts to forge formal relations with it.

Lu accused Beijing of playing "dollar diplomacy" to sabotage the 16-year-old Taiwan-Grenada ties and attacked the Caribbean state for trying to use China as a bargaining chip to demand more money from the island.

Grenada was the fourth country to switch diplomatic ties to China since pro-independence President Chen Shui-bian took office in May 2000, following Macedonia, Nauru and the Commonwealth of Dominica.

The latest setback means Taiwan is now recognized by just 25 countries, mostly small states in Africa, Latin America and the Pacific.

Chen, hours before Grenada's announcement, left for visits to the South Pacific nations of Palau and the Solomon Islands, pledging to boost Taiwan's international profile.

Taipei and Beijing, separated in 1949 after a civil war, have been bitter rivals in a diplomatic tug-of-war, luring away each other's allies with generous financial packages.

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