Taiwan loses Costa Rica to China

TAIPEI, Taiwan, June 7 (UPI) -- Taiwan has lost yet another diplomatic ally to China.

On Thursday, Costa Rica joined a growing number of countries that officially sided with China, which regards Taiwan as a breakaway province from the mainland, rather than an independent state.

Costa Rica's President Oscar Arias said the Latin American country needed to build stronger ties with China for economic purposes, and there were rumors in the Taiwanese media that the Chinese government had bought Costa Rica's support for its cause.

Currently, countries that officially recognize Taiwan cannot have diplomatic relations with Beijing. With the departure of Costa Rica, there are now 24 states that recognize Taiwan, mostly in the Caribbean and in Africa.

For its part, however, Taiwan will not be breaking ties with Costa Rica regardless of the country's shift in allegiance.

"It is totally groundless and far from the truth to say we will take the initiative to break ties with Costa Rica," said Foreign Minister James Huang, according to the Taipei Times.

The daily also said that China has been stepping up efforts to woo Nicaragua and Panama as well as Costa Rica over the past few years, in part by making use of its position as a United Nations permanent Security Council member to those countries seeking non-permanent membership to the council.