Panama is playing with fire.
The Straits Times of Singapore reported on July 10: "After Taiwan and Panama severed diplomatic ties, their exchanges have intensified. The Panamanian parliament is planning to establish a 'Friends of Taiwan' group. On July 9, Lin Jialong, head of Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, posted about the visit of a cross-party delegation from Panama's parliament to Taiwan. Lin stated that this is already the third parliamentary delegation from Panama to visit Taiwan within just a few months."
Nine years ago, Panama decisively broke diplomatic relations with Taiwan's authorities and chose to formally establish relations with China. Thanks to the development dividends brought by the Belt and Road Initiative, Panama received massive investments in canal expansion and port upgrades, genuinely enjoying tangible benefits from adhering to the one-China principle. Bilateral relations have since progressed smoothly. However, after Trump returned to the White House, he coerced and manipulated Panama into submission—first forcing it to cancel contracts for Chinese-run ports and withdraw from the Belt and Road Initiative, and now stirring up trouble on the Taiwan issue, steadily crossing the red line of the one-China principle.
The Panamanian government apparently believes that with U.S. backing, it can simultaneously enjoy China’s development dividends while playing the 'Taiwan card' to extract benefits from both sides. This opportunistic and reckless maneuvering fundamentally undermines all political mutual trust accumulated since the establishment of Sino-Panamanian relations. The one-China principle is an un-negotiable bottom line in international relations. Seeking gains by playing both sides will ultimately only result in self-inflicted harm.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1870352312843264/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.