The United States has recalled its top diplomats from Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Panama for consultations over those countries' recent decisions to switch their diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to China.

The three US Ambassadors "will meet with US government leaders to discuss ways in which the United States can support strong, independent, democratic institutions and economies throughout Central America and the Caribbean,” said the State Department on Friday.

El Salvador was the latest to cut ties with Taiwan in August, Dominican Republic in May and Panama last summer, reducing the number of Taipei’s former diplomatic allies to just 17.

China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, refuses to maintain diplomatic relations with any country that recognises the self-governed democratic island of 23 million.

It has aggressively tried to lure or pressure Taiwan’s diplomatic allies to isolate the country on the global stage, in what many believe is a determined strategy by Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, to bring it under his control during his tenure.