Diplomatic Briefing
Your exclusive news aggregator handpicked daily!Newsline: Taiwan told to vacate embassy in Honduras in 30 days
Taiwan must vacate its embassy in Honduras’ capital Tegucigalpa in 30 days, a senior Honduran official said on Monday, after President Xiomara Castro severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favor of China. Deputy Foreign Minister Antonio Garcia issued the order on local television on Monday, following the government’s announcement over the weekend that it had opened formal diplomatic relations with Beijing while simultaneously ending its decades-long relationship with Taiwan. (https://neuters.de/world/taiwan-told-vacate-embassy-honduras-after-ties-severed-2023-03-27/) Taipei’s embassy in the leafy Palmira neighborhood was for years one of the Central American capital’s most prominent foreign outposts, as well as the country’s second-biggest embassy after the U.S. embassy. In a statement late on Saturday, the Honduran foreign ministry said it recognized the People’s Republic of China, China’s formal name, as the only legitimate government that represents all of China and that Taiwan is an “inseparable part of Chinese territory.” The move left Taiwan with only 13 formal allies, mostly poor and developing countries in Central America, the Caribbean and the Pacific.
Newsline: Saudi, Iranian top diplomats to meet in coming weeks
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, have agreed to meet during the ongoing Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the Saudi state news agency SPA said on Monday, under a deal to restore ties. Both ministers spoke by phone for the second time in a few days, SPA said. “During the call, a number of common issues were discussed in light of the tripartite agreement that was signed in the People’s Republic of China. The two ministers also agreed to hold a bilateral meeting between them during the ongoing month of Ramadan,” SPA said. (https://neuters.de/world/middle-east/saudi-iranian-foreign-ministers-meet-during-muslim-holy-month-ramadan-2023-03-27/) Ramadan is likely to end on April 20. Earlier this month, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to revive relations after years of hostility that had threatened stability and security in the Gulf and helped fuel conflicts in the Middle East from Yemen to Syria. The deal between the regional powers, Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and long-time rival Shi’ite Iran, brokered by China, was announced after previously undisclosed talks in Beijing between top security officials from the two countries.
Newsline: Vietnam’s foreign ministry pledges to protect legal rights acts in South China Sea
Vietnam’s foreign ministry pledged to protect its legal rights after a Vietnamese ship monitored a Chinese Coast Guard vessel on Saturday in a Russian-operated gas field in Vietnam’s South China Sea exclusive economic zone (EEZ). A spokeswoman for Vietnam’s foreign ministry said that Vietnam acts in the South China Sea “to protect its legal rights”. (https://neuters.de/world/asia-pacific/vietnam-sends-ship-track-chinese-vessel-patrolling-russian-gas-field-eez-data-2023-03-27/) Chinese coast guard ships have sailed directly into energy exploration blocks operated or owned by Russian firms in Vietnam’s EEZ about 40 times since January 2022, according to vessel-tracking data from Vietnamese research organisation South China Sea Chronicle Initiative (SCSCI), an independent non-profit. The gas-rich fields exploited by the Russian companies are among the furthest from Vietnam’s coast and are close to the strategic boundary with Indonesia’s EEZ, and to blocks claimed by China. Zarubezhneft, Gazprom, and Russia’s foreign ministry and embassy in Hanoi did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry said the Chinese Coast Guard carries out patrols in the areas under China’s jurisdiction in the South China Sea while respecting international law, and said it was not aware of patrols in energy exploration blocks operated by Russian firms. Exclusive economic zones generally extend 200 nautical miles (370km) beyond its shores. By international law, a country’s territorial waters – in which it can control all activities – typically extend about 12 nautical miles from its shores. Conflicts can arise where such claims overlap. Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Brunei are among other countries that have competing claims in the South China Sea.
Newsline: Algerian ambassador to return to France to end diplomatic spat
Algeria’s ambassador to France will return to Paris in the coming days, French President Emmanuel Macron’s Elysee office said, in a move signalling a recovery in relations a month after a diplomatic spat. (https://neuters.de/world/algerian-ambassador-return-france-coming-days-elysee-2023-03-24/) The Elysee palace said that during a telephone conversation, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had told Macron that the ambassador would return. In February, Algeria recalled its ambassador to Paris, accusing France of orchestrating the escape of an activist it wants for arrest and triggering a new crisis between the countries after months of warming relations.
Newsline: India summons Canada’s envoy
India summoned Canada’s High Commissioner on Sunday to “convey strong concern” over Sikh protesters in Canada and how they were allowed to breach the security of India’s diplomatic mission and consulates. According to Canadian media reports, hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the Indian consulate in Vancouver on Saturday over demands for an independent Sikh state, a simmering issue for decades recently triggered again. “It is expected that the Canadian government will take all steps which are required to ensure the safety of our diplomats and security of our diplomatic premises so that they are able to fulfil their normal diplomatic functions,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. (https://neuters.de/world/india/india-summons-canada-high-commissioner-concerned-over-sikh-protesters-2023-03-26/) The statement follows Indian police on March 21 launching a hunt for Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh, who has revived talk of an independent Sikh homeland and stoked fears of a return to violence that killed tens of thousands of people in 1980s and early 1990s. Canada has the highest population of Sikhs outside their home state of Punjab in India.
Newsline: China establishes diplomatic ties with Honduras
China established diplomatic ties with Honduras on Sunday after the Central American country ended its decades-long relationship with Taiwan. The ending of ties with Taiwan had been expected after the Honduran foreign minister travelled to China last week to open relations and President Xiomara Castro said her government would start ties with Beijing. China said its foreign minister, Qin Gang, and Honduran Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina signed the deal on diplomatic recognition in Beijing, ending relations with Taiwan dating back to the 1940s. In a brief statement late on Saturday, the Honduran foreign ministry said it recognised the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate government that represents all of China and that Taiwan is an “inseparable part of Chinese territory”. (https://neuters.de/world/honduras-government-says-ending-diplomatic-ties-with-taiwan-2023-03-26/) China claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory with no right to state-to-state ties, a position Taipei strongly rejects. China demands that countries with which it has ties to recognise its position.
Newsline: U.S. Ambassador made rare prison visits to citizens in China
Over the course of the past month, U.S. Ambassador Nicholas Burns had the first meetings in more than five years with at least three U.S. citizens whom Washington says have been wrongfully detained, a senior U.S. official and family members said. Chinese-American citizen Kai Li, jailed in China on spying charges he denies, received a rare in-person visit last week from the U.S. Ambassador to Beijing and urged the U.S. government to continue to work for his release, Li’s son said on Friday. Burns met Li on March 16 in a Shanghai prison, Li’s son Harrison said. Li, a businessman, has been held in China since 2016 and was handed a 10-year jail sentence in 2018 for espionage. “The biggest message that my dad wanted to convey is to remind everyone in the U.S. government and the public that … he’s 100 percent innocent,” Harrison Li said. “Of course the U.S. government knows this, but he said it just bears repeating.” (https://neuters.de/world/envoy-made-rare-prison-visits-three-us-citizens-china-official-says-2023-03-24/) Burns wanted to shake Li’s hand but Chinese authorities did not allow that, Harrison Li said. The two could see and hear each other in an hour-long meeting through a floor-to-ceiling glass partition, he said. Harrison Li said that when the ambassador asked his father what he hoped to do once he was released, he replied that he wanted to work on “improving relations between the United States and China.” China did not allow in-person visits during its prolonged COVID-19 lockdown. Burns has also met with Mark Swidan, a Texas-based businessman who was convicted by a Chinese court in 2019 and David Lin, an American pastor detained in China since 2006, the senior U.S. official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. He did not provide the dates but said Burns visited the men “within the last few weeks” and that “this is the first time he’s actually had a chance to get face-to-face.” Burns has accompanied consular officers on prison visits to U.S. citizens held in China, a State Department spokesperson said. China’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Newsline: China’s top diplomat eyes stronger ties with New Zealand
China regards New Zealand as a key partner and has confidence in stable bilateral ties, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi said on Friday. China and New Zealand have always respected and trusted each other, and bilateral ties have long been at the forefront of China’s relations with developed Western countries, Wang told New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta, according to a statement by the Chinese foreign ministry. “China-New Zealand cooperation has great potential,” Wang said. (https://neuters.de/world/asia-pacific/chinas-top-diplomat-confident-about-stable-ties-with-new-zealand-2023-03-24/) Mahuta arrived in China on Wednesday for a four-day trip, the first by a New Zealand minister since 2019, with her trip seen paving the way for a future visit by Chris Hipkins who became prime minister in January after Jacinda Ardern resigned. New Zealand and China’s interactions have remained largely cordial, with the two sides upgrading their free trade pact last year. China remains New Zealand’s largest trading partner.
Newsline: Indian police open probe into London embassy protest
Indian police have opened an investigation into a protest this week outside its High Commission in London, Reuters partner ANI reported on Friday, pursuing action on an incident that has raised tension in relations with Britain. Indian police opened an investigation, the ANI news agency reported. “Case registered after the Ministry of Home Affairs asked Delhi Police to take appropriate legal action,” ANI said, citing the police department of the Indian capital that reports to the federal government. Police officials and the British embassy in New Delhi did not immediately respond to calls and messages seeking comment. (https://neuters.de/world/indian-police-open-investigation-into-london-embassy-protest-media-2023-03-24/) Protesters with “Khalistan” banners took an Indian flag down from a first-floor balcony of the High Commission in the British capital on Sunday to denounce recent police action in India’s Punjab state, British and Indian media reported. Khalistan is the name of an independent Sikh homeland that some members of that community aspire to, both at home in India and in countries where Sikhs have settled. India summoned the top British diplomat in New Delhi on Sunday to convey its “strong protest at the actions taken by separatist and extremist elements” at the mission, and to seek an explanation for “the complete absence” of security there. British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said acts of violence towards staff at the High Commission in London were unacceptable and British police were investigating.
Newsline: U.S envoy says Russian support for Myanmar junta ‘destabilising’ Southeast Asia
Russia’s backing for Myanmar’s military rulers is unacceptable and destabilising, with its supply of weapons helping to fuel a conflict that has become a catastrophe for the country, a top U.S. State Department official said. The United States is concerned about the wider impact of the escalating crisis in Myanmar since a coup in 2021 and advancement of the junta’s ties with Russia, which could seek to establish military bases in the country, State Department Counselor Derek Chollet told Reuters. “Anyone who is talking to Moscow needs to tell them that their continued military support for the junta is unacceptable. It’s destabilising,” he said in an interview during his trip to Southeast Asia. “And it’s not only a problem for Myanmar, it’s a problem for this region.” (https://neuters.de/world/asia-pacific/russian-support-myanmar-junta-destabilising-southeast-asia-us-envoy-2023-03-23/) Activists and U.N. experts have condemned Russia, the first major power to voice support for the junta, as well as China, for supplying weapons to a military they accuse of systematic atrocities against civilians. The junta says it is fighting “terrorists”.
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