El Salvador, one of the 18 countries which has recognised Taiwan as a separate nation, today broke off ties with it and established diplomatic relations with China as Beijing continues to chip away Taiwan's dwindling allies, alluring them with its economic clout.
Taiwan has accused China of buying countries with its dollar diplomacy.
Salvadoran foreign minister Carlos Castaneda and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi signed a document here, establishing diplomatic relations by recognising the 'One China' policy under which Taiwan and Tibet are part of China's mainland.
China made the 'One China' policy a prerequisite for countries to establish diplomatic ties with it.
With El Salvador establishing diplomatic ties with China, the number of countries, which recognise Taiwan as a separate nation, have come down to 17.
Taiwan's foreign minister Joseph Wu alleged the Central American nation's move is the result of crude actions by China.
We will not engage in dollar diplomacy with China, Wu was quoted as saying by Taiwanese media.
He said El Salvador had been asking for huge funding for a port development project which Taiwan cannot afford as it would leave both countries in debt.
Refuting the dollar diplomacy charge, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said El Salvador's move is a political judgement and decision rather than a bargaining chip.
"Salvador government has decided to establish diplomatic relations because they recognised the 'One China' principle with no economic preconditions. China highly appreciate this. I want to remind the Taiwan side that establishing diplomatic relations with People's Republic of China represent a trend of the time and will of the people, he said.
The 17 countries which have diplomatic links with Taiwan are Belize, Haiti, Nicaragua, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Guatemala, Paraguay, Honduras, Saint Lucia, Swaziland, The Holy See, Kiribati, Nauru, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, the Marshall Islands and Palau.
Besides chipping away allies of Taiwan, Beijing has also stepped up pressure on the island nation by blocking it from a number of international events and conducting military drills close to the country.
China views Taiwan as its inalienable part which has to be reunited with the mainland, even by force.
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