by Khaila Gentle
BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Aug. 11, 2022 Longstanding tension between Taiwan (formally known as the Republic of China, Taiwan) and China (the People’s Republic of China (ROC)) has escalated in the past few weeks following the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s controversial visit to Taiwan. The congresswoman’s visit on Tuesday, August 2, took place as part of a tour of Asia by US Congress, though a stop in Taiwan was not officially on her itinerary.
It was the first time in twenty-five years that a US House Speaker had visited the island nation and was preluded by numerous threats of retaliation from China. Since then, China has increased its military operations near Taiwan.
Just this Wednesday, eleven Chinese warplanes crossed the Taiwan Strait median line into Taiwan air space, according to its Ministry of National Defense. Before that, China had launched live-fire missile tests in close proximity to the island.
At present, there are some 300 Belizeans residing in Taiwan, a large number of whom are students. And while there is currently no imminent threat of direct military action by the People’s Republic of China against Taiwan, the Government of Belize—and many others—has expressed its unwavering support for its ally. Today, during an interview at the Belize Best Western Biltmore Plaza, Dr. Louis Zabaneh, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology, reiterated the government’s stance.
“We have our ambassador who is in Taiwan, and she is in close contact with the students on a regular basis. In fact, that’s one of the functions of our embassy—it’s to look out for our citizens who are in Taiwan. But we’ve heard our Foreign Minister make it very clear that we are fully supportive of Taiwan’s sovereignty and independence,” said Dr. Zabaneh.
Dr. Zabaneh’s statement was made just as other allies of Taiwan were voicing their support, including the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, who, according to Taiwan News, condemned China’s military drills during his recent visit to the ROC.