Relations with Taiwan do not dovetail with Guyana’s permanent interests

Guyana’s relations with the US and China are under the spotlight once again. This time, the fly in the ointment is Taiwan.

The matter has to be placed in context.

President Biden’s recent outline of his administration’s foreign policy must be taken into account in the same way as President Xi’s speech at the just concluded World Economic Forum at Davos where he spoke about ‘promoting a new type of international relations’.

In effect, both world leaders spoke implicitly about the need for a new world order.

It is not the first time that world leaders have made calls for a new world order or a new type of international relations.

Time and again, at the United Nations General Assembly, world leaders have made calls containing elements that resemble the recent statements by Presidents Biden and Xi.

Here in Guyana, we are familiar with Cheddi Jagan’s call for a New Global Human Order, the essence of which has been publicized many times over.

But for now, it will be the US and China, based on the alignment of their policies and actions on the world stage that will determine the form and content of the new world order. Biden has already signalled that the ‘US is ready to work with China when it is in their interest to do so.’ China has reciprocated verbally.

While we anxiously await the unfolding of big power politics, not to be overlooked is the fact that at this time, both the US and Russia are experiencing serious threats to their domestic security. To a large extent, a country’s domestic policy reflects its foreign policy.

The recent elections in the US and the Navalny factor in Russia have demonstrated how deeply politically divided these two countries are.

But unlike Putin who is hard at work to crush his opponents, Biden is hard at work to build bridges and heal wounds.

Thus far, China has managed to stave off any threat to its domestic security save for persistent western propaganda concerning its treatment of the Uighur people and its undermining of Hong Kong’s autonomy.

To those who continue to be card-bearing members of Guyana’s foreign policy establishment, the current debate surrounding the American-Taiwanese foray into China-Guyana relations must be of interest to them.

I support fully the decision to scrap the agreement establishing a Taiwan office here in Guyana not only for now but in the foreseeable future.

Call it a ‘miscommunication,’ ‘compartmentalization’ a ‘misstep’ or an ‘embarrassment’. All that is immaterial at this point.

Incidentally, this is not the first time the Taiwanese have sought to establish a commercial presence in Guyana and have been rebuffed. Our Chinese friends know this. They know also of Guyana’s commitment to the One-China Policy.

That aside, the crux of the matter is, Taiwan has no seat at the United Nations, the World Bank, the IMF, the IDB, the World Trade Organization nor the PAHO/WHO. It is at those multilateral bodies where Guyana’s interests lie.

Further, there is nothing Taiwan can do for us in respect to our border controversy with Venezuela. Nor can Taiwan fix the problem at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. Any major Taiwanese investment in Guyana will come with diplomatic strings attached.

In any event, relations with Taiwan do not dovetail with Guyana’s permanent interests, and offending China, a permanent friend, at this time, is not in our interest either.

Placed in a regional context, it might be useful for CARICOM leaders to take note of the view expressed by President Xi at Davos about deepening SouthSouth Cooperation as well as the realpolitik expressed by the Prime Minister of Jamaica regarding the ‘intrinsic and inextricable link’ between the Caribbean region and the US.

In the configuration of Guyana’s global interests Taiwan must be considered an intruder in Guyana-China relations.

Rejecting Taiwan’s intrusion in what has been for decades, Guyana’s peaceful, harmonious and beneficial relationship with a China while at the same time, safeguarding its relations with the USA was a step in the right direction.

Yours faithfully,

Clement J. Rohee

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs