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Kinling Lo

El Salvador might be a small nation, but the United States is worried it has something more to offer mainland China than diplomatic recognition: a port that could be used for military purposes.
The Central American country officially cut ties with Taipei and established a formal alliance with Beijing on Tuesday, leaving Taiwan with just 17 nations that officially recognise its status.
While Taipei has accused Beijing of luring its allies away with generous aid offers, Washington sees the latest switch as not just a case of piling more pressure on the self-ruled island, but a move to shore up mainland China’s security and strategic planning in the region.
El Salvador cuts Taiwan links as island loses yet another ally
Jean Manes, the US ambassador to El Salvador, tweeted on Tuesday that the United States was concerned about the Central American nation’s decision to break ties with Taiwan.
“Without a doubt, this will impact our relationship with the government. We continue supporting the Salvadoran people,” she said.

EE.UU está analizando la decisión de #ElSalvador. Es preocupante por muchas razones, entre las que se incluye romper una relación de más de 80 años con #Taiwán. Sin duda, esto impactará nuestra relación con el gobierno. Seguimos apoyando al pueblo salvadoreño.
— Jean Manes (@USAmbSV) August 21, 2018

Last month, Manes had warned about China’s intentions to turn the La Union commercial port in El Salvador’s east into a “military base”, according to US-based MintPress News.
“It is a strategic matter, and we all need to keep our eyes open to what is happening,” she said.
Facing the Pacific Ocean, El Salvador has an area half the size of Taiwan and is the smallest country in Central America. Its economy relies on exports of coffee, sugar, textiles and clothing, and the assembly of intermediate goods, and a third of its population of 6.5 million lives below the poverty line.
Taiwan is developing missiles in response to Beijing’s military build-up
The shipping port of La Union has remained largely deserted since it was completed in 2008 because its lack of maritime traffic has made it difficult to find investors.
Nelson Vanegas, president of the Autonomous Executive Port Commission in El Salvador, said in July that there were at least three companies – from Asia, Europe and America – interested in operating the port.
A new tendering process to find an operator is expected to begin next month.

On Tuesday, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said Taipei had rejected El Salvador’s request for harbour development funding, without naming La Union, over concerns that the site was unsustainable.
But last month, El Salvador Economy Minister Luz Estrella Rodriguez said Beijing was interested in reviving the port, in addition to investing in other areas of the country.
She said Chinese companies such as state-owned Citic Group had been meeting with Salvadoran officials for several years about business opportunities not just at the port, but at the country’s international airport and its railways.
United States ‘plays Taiwan card’ with Tsai Ing-wen’s trip to Nasa’s mission control centre
“It is perfectly natural that China would be interested in having a port in El Salvador – it’s located at the centre of Central America, acting as a transport and trade hub linking North and South America,” said Xu Shicheng, a research fellow with the Institute of Latin American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
“The US likes to say that it would be of military use just because it has a huge military presence in the region, but in fact, China has no military presence in the region,” Xu said.


China opened its first overseas military base in Djibouti last year, and is possibly developing one in Gwadar Port in Pakistan, but observers said it was unlikely it would be planning to build a military port in El Salvador.
Collin Koh, a naval affairs expert at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said it would be far-fetched to say Beijing saw ports as “potential bases”, but it was clear that it was seeking to acquire or help develop overseas ports in strategic locations that could serve its long-term interests.
“To build a base in this region may run the risk of provoking a stronger US response, even as we can still entertain the idea of the occasional access to port facilities by the People’s Liberation Army Navy,” Koh said.
Taiwan’s critical battle to keep its diplomatic allies from switching sides
But Charles Morrison, a US-Asia security affairs expert at the East-West Centre in Hawaii, doubted whether either Taipei or Beijing had a deep interest in El Salvador apart from the symbolic meaning of the diplomatic switch and its acceptance of the one-China policy.
“While Taiwan fights to keep its relationships, it is not willing to pay any price,” he said, referring to Taipei rejecting El Salvador’s funding request.
Beijing regards Taiwan as a renegade province subject to eventual reunification, by force if necessary. It has stepped up pressure against the island since Tsai Ing-wen, from the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, became president and refused to accept the one-China principle.


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Taiwan

China’s new alliance stirs US worries over possible ‘military base’ in El Salvador

US ambassador had warned about Beijing’s intentions at La Union port before the Central American nation made a diplomatic switch from Taipei

Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu attends a news conference, in Taipei, Taiwan August 21, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer

The US ambassador to El Salvador last month warned of China’s intentions to turn the La Union port into a ‘military base’. Photo: Handout

El Salvador cuts Taiwan links as island loses yet another ally

El Salvador was one of Taiwan’s last diplomatic allies. Photo: Shutterstock

epa06955334 A handout photo made available by the Taiwanese Presidential office shows Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen delivering a speech in the Parliament of Belize in Belmopan, Belize, 17 August 2018 (issued 18 August 2018). In her speech, Tsai thanked Belize for supporting Taiwan on the world stage but warned that 'some countries are trying to sabotage Taiwan-Belize relationship with empty promises.' Tsai arrived in Belize on 16 August after visiting Paraguay. Paraguay and Belize are among the 18 countries which recognize Taiwan, formally called the Republic of China (ROC). EPA-EFE/TAIWAN PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

United States ‘plays Taiwan card’ with Tsai Ing-wen’s trip to Nasa’s mission control centre

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen (right) tours the Johnson Space Centre in Houston accompanied by US astronaut Edward Michael Fincke on Sunday. Photo: EPA-EFE

epa06959267 A handout photo made available by the Taiwanese Presidential office shows Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen (C) visiting NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, USA, 19 August 2018 (issued 20 August 2018). Tsai was transiting through Houston on her way home after visiting Paraguay and Belize. Paraguay and Belize are among the 18 countries which recognize Taiwan, formally called the Republic of China (ROC). EPA-EFE/TAIWAN PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE / HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

Taiwan is developing missiles in response to Beijing’s military build-up

Self-ruled island said to have deployed one set of missiles, perfected another and sped up production of a third since Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016

epa06599698 Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the fourth plenary session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, 13 March 2018. Delegates of NPC voted on amendments to the constitution on 11 March, including the abolishing of the current presidential term limits. EPA-EFE/ROMAN PILIPEY

Satellite images showed Taiwan's home-grown Hsiung Feng IIE land-attack cruise missile were sent to a base in Taoyuan City, where is about 50 km of Taipei. Photo: Kanwa Defence Review

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen (second left) listens to a brief on a missile at Suao in April. Photo: Military News Agency/AP

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US ambassador had warned about Beijing’s intentions at La Union port before the Central American nation made a diplomatic switch from Taipei
