The rest of Taiwan’s remaining allies are “small game” for China, says Lyle Goldstein, a visiting professor at Brown University who focuses on China and Russian issues. Many of these countries are in Central American and in March, one of them – Honduras – cut ties with Taipei, switching its allegiance to Beijing.
Goldstein says Beijing is more concerned with reminding countries that have adhered to the one-China approach what they signed up for. “China’s approach to diplomacy is constantly waving the Taiwan issue in front of countries to say, ‘You have been warned … you have endorsed one China’,” he says.
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