Among the 15 nations in the Caribbean Community (Caricom), only a handful still maintain diplomatic and other relations with Taiwan. The others steadfastly support mainland China. However, in the past week, China gave a strong indication that it is willing to punish those who still prefer to deal with its breakaway province rather than Beijing.
Setting its sights on Belize, Chinese officials announced economic and administrative sanctions against Belizean Foreign Minister Francis Fonseca, accusing him and Paraguayan Communications Minister Gustavo Villate of being pawns of Taiwan and its ambitions to remain a breakaway province and a staunch ally of the US and Western nations.
For Caricom member nations, this marks the first time one of their own, at the level of a senior cabinet minister, has been targeted by Chinese sanctions, as China moved to underscore its displeasure with Belize, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Vincent, and Haiti — the only regional member states maintaining diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
“Certain politicians in Paraguay and Belize have willingly served as pawns of the Taiwan authorities in their attempts to seek Taiwan’s independence by soliciting external forces,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters as the sanctions were announced.
The sanctions on the two are linked to a freeze of any assets of the ministers in China, Hong Kong, and Macau; restrictions on Chinese firms and individuals conducting business with them; and travel bans to cities and provinces controlled by China. The sanctions kicked in on Monday of last week, Beijing stated. Belizean officials said the moves by the Chinese will probably be of no effect, because the minister individually has no real assets in China, nor commercial bank accounts or other business activities. The government of Prime Minister John Briceno is standing by its minister and doubling down on its choice of Taiwan over China as far as diplomatic recognition goes.
“These measures will not alter Belize’s foreign policy, nor will they deter the government from carrying out its responsibilities,” the government said in a statement. “The government of Belize continues to stand fully behind Minister Fonseca. Belize is a sovereign and independent state. The principles of sovereign equality and non-intervention in the affairs of other states are the foundation of the international order on which small states depend for their security and development. The principles of sovereign equality and non-intervention in the affairs of other states are the foundation of the international order on which small states depend for their security and development.”
The Caricom nation also moved to remind China of actual development projects involving Taiwan, noting that the “partnership has delivered cooperation in development, health, education, infrastructure, the environment, and agriculture for the benefit of the Belizean people. Measures directed at an individual for carrying out the lawful duties of his office are unwarranted, and we reject them.”
Among those nations that prefer Taiwan, the incumbent administration in St. Vincent had pledged on the campaign trail, before winning general elections in late November 2025, that it would have dumped Taipei but it is yet to do since Taiwan quickly stepped up aid levels to the federations with the Grenadines and increased the number of scholarships. On a recent visit to Taiwan, Prime Minister Godwin Friday received a red carpet welcome as he publicly played up Taiwan’s usefulness as far as development aid is concerned.
The move against the Belizean minister appears to underscore the fight between the two for national hearts and minds as the U.S. has been stepping up its efforts to reduce China’s growing geopolitical influence in the Caribbean. For example, Antigua’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne publicly compared national relations with China and the U.S. over the weekend, making it clear that it is much easier to deal with Beijing than the U.S. “I can’t even get a call from President Trump, but I can get a meeting with President Xi,” Browne said. “China is the nation’s most important development partner. That shows you the degree of respect that China has extended to Antigua and Barbuda and other small states. There is no other country that has contributed more to our development than the People’s Republic of China during the last three decades.”
