Honduras will stand by Taiwan, says President Hernandez amid Chinese threat

Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez met Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen here and assured his country's support to Taiwan amid Chinese increasing military and diplomatic pressure.

During the meeting on Saturday, Hernandez said Honduras will stand by Taiwan, Taiwan News reported.

Honduras is among only 15 countries that recognise Taipei over Beijing.

"It's in difficult times that you get to know your friends better," Hernandez said. "In this moment of tensions in the region, Honduras is here, always close to Taiwan."

He is paying a three-day visit to Taiwan to mark 80 years of official diplomatic relations.

Taiwan's president mentioned that Hernandez is the first head of state from Central America to visit the country after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.

Taipei, on the other hand, has countered the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing. China has threatened that "Taiwan's independence" means war.

( With inputs from ANI )

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor