By The Rio Times | Created at 2026-09-29 13:32:09 | Updated at 2026-09-29 14:14:59
1 hour ago
BELIZE · POLITICS
Key Facts
- —The country Belize, a Central American nation of about 419,000 people, is one of just 12 countries that recognise Taiwan.
- —Why it matters China claims Taiwan as its own and has drawn away its allies, including Nicaragua in 2021 and Honduras in 2023.
- —What happened Taiwan’s foreign minister, Lin Chia-lung, arrived on Monday 28 September for his fifth visit, staying until Wednesday.
- —What is planned He is due to sign a joint communiqué and a diplomatic-training agreement, and tour Taiwan-funded building projects.
- —What it means for you Taiwan helps pay for Belizean infrastructure, farming and climate projects, and a US$100 million loan went to parliament in August.
- —Still open No new aid amounts had been published by Tuesday morning, and the texts to be signed are not yet public.
Taiwan’s foreign minister, Lin Chia-lung, arrived on Monday afternoon, 28 September, on a visit meant to deepen ties between Belize and Taiwan. It is his fifth trip to the Central American country, Taiwan News reported.
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Belize is one of only 12 countries that still recognise Taiwan, and diplomatic relations date from 1989. Lin brought more than 30 business representatives, while Prime Minister John Briceño has kept the agenda to himself.
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What is on the programme in Belize
Taiwan’s foreign ministry said on 27 September that Lin would meet Governor-General Froyla Tzalam and Prime Minister Briceño. He will also hold talks with Francis Fonseca, Belize’s minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade.
With Fonseca, Lin is to sign a joint communiqué, a formal statement by both governments. A second agreement covers training and exchanges for diplomats, Love FM and Greater Belize Media reported.
Lin will inspect a hospital being built in San Pedro, on Ambergris Caye, and a 50-home social housing scheme. He will also visit the planned site of a Taiwan-Caribbean Prosperity Academy, and all three are Taiwan-funded projects.
The business delegation covers green energy, smart transport, artificial intelligence, space technology, biotechnology, health care, tourism and finance. It will hold a business-matching meeting in each country, joined by the US-Taiwan Business Council, which promotes US trade with Taiwan.
What Belize has said so far
Oscar Arnold, the chief executive of Belize’s foreign ministry, met Lin at Philip Goldson International Airport near Belize City, Love FM reported. Belize’s ambassador to Taiwan, Katherine Meighan, returned early to greet him, according to Taiwan News.
Briceño gave little away when a 7News reporter asked him on Monday what the two sides would discuss. “I don’t think that’s something I should discuss with the media until we finish discussing,” he said.
His support in public has been plain, however. At the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday 26 September, Briceño said “Taiwan is a friend of Belize”, Breaking Belize News reported.
He called once more for Taiwan’s “meaningful participation in the United Nations system”. Taiwan’s 23 million people “have no seat and no voice” in the General Assembly, he said, according to Love FM.
Why Taiwan counts every friend
Taiwan’s foreign ministry lists 12 countries with full diplomatic ties, seven of them in Latin America and the Caribbean. They are Belize, Guatemala, Haiti, Paraguay, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
The other five are the Marshall Islands, Palau, Tuvalu, Eswatini in southern Africa and the Holy See. For comparison, the United Nations has 193 member states, and nearly all of them recognise Beijing instead of Taipei.
Nicaragua dropped Taipei for Beijing on 9 December 2021, and Honduras followed in 2023 under then-president Xiomara Castro. Her successor, Nasry Asfura, is reviewing whether to restore ties with Taiwan, Taiwan News reported on 16 September.
China’s government regards Taiwan as part of China, a claim Taiwan’s government rejects. Meeting US President Donald Trump on 24 September, China’s Xi Jinping urged Washington to oppose Taiwan independence, according to Beijing’s account.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry replied on 25 September that Beijing uses every opening to try to influence other countries’ dealings with Taiwan. How Beijing will respond to Lin’s trip to Belize remains unclear.
What Taiwan brings to Belize
In August Belize’s parliament was asked to approve a US$100 million loan from Taiwan’s Export-Import Bank, Breaking Belize News reported. That equals BZ$200 million (US$100 million), because the Belize dollar is fixed at two to the US dollar.
The loan runs 20 years with three years’ grace, and the first US$40 million can be drawn by the end of 2026. Briceño described it as “general financing” for the government’s needs over five years, Greater Belize Media reported.
He said it would fund investments such as infrastructure, education and health rather than salaries. At the UN on Saturday he also credited Taiwan with help on climate resilience, farming and public works.
A sign outside the National Assembly in Belmopan, the capital, credited Taiwan with co-financing a retrofit of the building. Taiwan’s foreign ministry says it seeks mutual benefit and shared prosperity with allies such as Belize.
The opposition wants clearer terms
Briceño leads the governing centre-left People’s United Party (PUP), while the centre-right United Democratic Party (UDP) sits in opposition. Tracy Panton, the leader of the opposition, has pressed the government on the terms of Taiwanese lending.
In August she argued that parliament was being asked to approve a long-term commitment without a detailed plan of investments or outcomes. She asked what the first US$40 million would pay for, and whether it would cover day-to-day spending, Breaking Belize News reported.
She also asked how much of the loan would go to energy security, Greater Belize Media reported. Every Belizean household, she said, is struggling with the cost of electricity.
In September 2024 Shyne Barrow, then the UDP leader, abstained on a motion marking 35 years of relations with Taiwan. In October he said most of his party was grateful for Taiwan’s help to “both UDP and PUP governments”, Love FM reported.
Where Washington and Guatemala fit
The United States recognises Beijing, not Taipei, yet its envoy in Belize has praised the tie. André Bauer, the new US ambassador, told Greater Belize Media in early September that both countries had “prioritized the relationship with Taiwan”.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday it would give details of Lin’s full itinerary at an appropriate time, Taiwan News reported. It has not confirmed whether his route passes through the United States.
After Belize, Lin flies to Guatemala, Taiwan’s other ally in Central America, to meet President Bernardo Arévalo. There he will mark 92 years of diplomatic ties and Taiwan’s National Day.
Belize and Guatemala are themselves at odds over a Guatemalan military flight that Belize says entered its airspace on 24 September. Guatemala denies it, as set out in Belize Airspace Row: Guatemala Denies Military Flight That Belize Tracked.
What comes next
The joint communiqué that Belize and Taiwan are due to sign is expected during the visit, which ends on Wednesday. Its text, and that of the diplomatic-training agreement, had not been published by Tuesday morning.
It is not known whether new aid, loans or scholarships will be announced, or what deals the business delegation may close. The cost of the three projects on Lin’s tour was not given when the visit was announced.
The visit does not signal any change in Belize’s recognition, which Briceño reaffirmed at the UN on Saturday. Nor does a visit by itself mean new money, since the US$100 million loan went before parliament in August.
Since taking office in May 2024, Lin has taken business delegations to allies under what Taipei calls its Diplomatic Allies Prosperity Project. For Belize, the open questions are what the partnership pays for and on what terms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Belize recognise Taiwan and not China?
Belize and Taiwan have kept diplomatic ties since 1989, and Beijing does not keep diplomatic relations with governments that recognise Taipei. Briceño calls Taiwan a development partner of more than three decades.
How many countries still recognise Taiwan?
Twelve, according to Taiwan’s foreign ministry: seven in Latin America and the Caribbean, three in the Pacific, Eswatini in Africa and the Holy See. Most of the world, including the United States, recognises Beijing instead.
Is Taiwan giving Belize new money during this visit?
No new amounts had been announced by Tuesday morning. The largest recent sum is a US$100 million loan from Taiwan’s Export-Import Bank, put before Belize’s parliament in August.
What is the Taiwan-Caribbean Prosperity Academy?
It is a planned institution whose proposed site Lin will visit in Belize, according to Taiwan’s foreign ministry. Its purpose, cost and opening date were not set out when the visit was announced.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
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