Diplomatic Briefing
Your exclusive news aggregator handpicked daily!Archive for March 27, 2023
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.
Diplomatic Briefing 