St Lucia recognizes Taiwan; China urges it to keep ties (Roundup)

Apr 26, 2007, 8:55 GMT

Taipei - Taiwan on Thursday confirmed that St Lucia has agreed to recognize Taipei, but the Caribbean island state is not ready to cut diplomatic ties with China.

'St Lucia's foreign minister told parliament on Wednesday that St Lucia was going to recognize Taiwan, so our next step is to complete the procedure of resuming ties as soon as possible,' Foreign Minister Huang Chih-fang told reporters.

'Although St Lucia launches ties with us, it does not want to cut ties with China. So we should not lower our vigilance because there will be sharp reaction or protest from China,' he said.

'We hope to complete the procedure of resuming ties with St Lucia as soon as possible,' Huang said, adding that the communique on resuming ties could be signed within a month.

On Wednesday night, Premier Su Tseng-chang, while campaigning for his bid to join the 2008 presidential race, told a mass rally that St Lucia had agreed to resume diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

'I have good news to tell you: that is St Lucia will become our 25th diplomatic ally tonight,' he said the rally in Chunli City.

It is not clear how St Lucia will maintain diplomatic ties with both Taipei and Beijing.

China's foreign ministry on Thursday urged the Caribbean island not to recognize Taiwan and to honour its diplomatic agreement with Beijing.

'We have already signed a joint statement with St Lucia,' China's foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters.

'St Lucia should honour its commitment and treat the Chinese government as the only legitimate government of China,' Liu said.

Taiwan accepts dual recognition, but China cuts ties with foreign countries as soon as they launch formal ties with Taipei.

St Lucia, a Caribbean island state with a population of 168,000, opened diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1984 but cut them in order to recognize China in 1997.

Taiwan has been seeking to restore diplomatic ties with St Lucia since the return to power of the Caribbean nation's opposition leader John Compton in December 2006.

Compton, 82, is leader of the United Workers' Party and is the so- called father of St Lucia's independence from Britain in 1979.

He led St Lucia for 29 years, between 1964 and 1979 and again from 1982 to 1996.

Taiwan and China's diplomatic manoeuvres over St Lucia intensified in recent months, causing China to pledge more aid, including offering to help build an industrial zone and a sports stadium, in a bid to match Taiwan's offer of aid.

If St Lucia resumes ties with Taiwan, it will be the 25th country to recognize Taiwan, formally known as the Republic of China.

Some 170 countries recognize China, or the People's Republic of China, and see Taiwan as China's breakaway province.