The president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, has vowed to fight against Chinese pressure after the island lost the diplomatic allegiance of El Salvador to Beijing.

El Salvador and Taiwan severed official ties on Monday after the central American country announced the move. Taiwan’s foreign ministry said it had terminated bilateral ties with El Salvador and was recalling all staff from the country.

“We will turn to countries with similar values to fight together against China’s increasingly out-of-control international behaviour,” Tsai said.

The latest diplomatic switch leaves Taiwan further isolated on the international stage. Beijing claims that Taiwan, which operates under its own government, currency, and military, is an inseparable part of China and says it will not maintain ties with any country that has formal diplomatic ties with Taipei.

Relations between China and Taiwan have reached a low under Tsai, who belongs to the Democratic Progressive party, which advocates independence for the island. Since her election, Beijing has ramped up efforts to poach Taiwan’s allies. Now, just 17 countries recognise Taiwan, after Burkina Faso and the Dominican Republic cut ties and recognised Beijing instead earlier this year.

According to Taiwan’s foreign minister, Joseph Wu, El Salvador had asked Taiwan to provide an “astronomical sum” in financial aid for a port project that officials believed would leave both countries in debt. Meanwhile, Taiwan had received reports that El Salvador was considering establishing ties with Beijing in exchange for investment and aid.



“The Taiwanese government is fully against competing in dollar diplomacy with China,” Wu said. “Pressure from China would only make Taiwan more determined to continue our path of democracy and freedom.”

Wu said Taiwanese officials had met with representatives of El Salvador’s government during a visit by Tsai to Latin America last week, but failed to salvage the relationship.

On Monday El Salvador’s president, Salvador Sánchez Cerén, said in a televised address that his country had established diplomatic ties with China and ended ties with Taiwan.

“We are convinced this is a step in the right direction that corresponds to the principles of international law, of international relations and the inevitable trends of our time,” he said.

China has also pressured companies to take sides. This year China’s aviation authority demanded foreign airlines, including American Airlines, Air Canada, Lufthansa, British Airways, and Qantas to change any descriptions of Taiwan as a non-Chinese territory.

Chinese and Taiwanese citizens have also entered the debate, calling for boycotts of the Taiwanese bakery 85 Degrees after it attempted to appease angry mainland customers when Tsai visited one of its branches.

“China will not get unification with Taiwan by luring away our allies. What China did was to humiliate Taiwan repeatedly without getting any respect from Taiwan’s people,” Tsai’s Democratic Progressive party said in a statement.

Additional reporting by William Yang