Taiwanese president Tsai courts ally Haiti during Caribbean tour

TAIWANESE President Tsai Ing-Wen made a brief v isit to Haiti on Saturday without unveiling new spending commitments, as she courts Taipei’s dwindling a llies i n the Caribbean in a diplomatic struggle wit h China.

Since Tsai became president, Beijing – which considers Taiwan part of its territor y – has poached five of t he isla nd’s shrink ing roster of a l lies, including Haiti’s neighbour the Dominican Republic.

She spoke with her Haitian counterpart Jovenel Moise for half an hour to discuss possible cooperation in education and infrastructure, without prov iding specific details.

Taipei has a llocated $150 million to the countr y to help elect rif y its territor y but the funds have not been a llocated because they have yet to be ratified by the Haitian parliament.

Port-au-Prince is in the middle of a protracted political crisis which has sapped the country’s ability to leverage financial concessions out of Taipei.

Growing st reet protests have demanded Moise’s resignation, and he has not had a functioning government for months, with parliament barely able to get enough attendees to hold a session.

Before continuing her regiona l tour by departing to Saint Lucia on Saturday night, Tsai told a joint audience of loca l and Taiwanese business leaders t hat she wished “with a ll my heart for polit ica l and socia l stabilit y in Haiti”.

Haiti is now one of only 17 countries in the world to still officially recognise Taiwan, but has vowed to maintain ties with the island.

Taiwan has ruled itself for seven decades but most countries do not recognise it – including the US, which switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979.

Yet Washington remains its most powerful unofficial ally and biggest arms supplier, and has pressured Haiti to maintain its relationship with Taipei.

China has vowed to one day to reassert control over t he island, by force i f necessar y.