On Friday, 7 September 2018, day after presenting credentials to President Danilo Medina, United States ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Robin Berstein, was called back to Washington for consultations, joining other recalled US diplomats in Panama and El Salvador. According to State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert, the purpose of these consultations will be to evaluate the decision by these countries to break off relations with Taiwan in favor of a full diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China. “Our three mission chiefs will meet with leaders of the United States government to discuss ways in which the United States can support strong institutions and economies that are independent and democratic in all of Central America and the Caribbean.
An editorial commentary in El Espia of Diario Libre on Monday, 10 September observes the US took 595 days to accredit an ambassador, but only one day to recall the ambassador.
In the Central American region, El Salvador was the latest to sign with People’s Republic of China over Taiwan, after the Dominican Republic did so on 1 May 2018, and Panama in 2017. Costa Rica had already signed with China in 2007. In the Central American region, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala maintain diplomatic ties with the People’s Republic of China. In the Caribbean, only Belize, St Kitts, St Vincent, St Lucia and Haiti still recognize Taiwan.
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Diario Libre
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Diario Libre
10 September 2018
