Paraguayan President Peña urges UN to ensure Taiwan’s participation — South China Morning Post

Paraguayan President Santiago Peña said during the UN General Assembly that his country does not maintain neutrality regarding the situation in the Taiwan Strait. He called for Taiwan to be granted full and meaningful participation in the UN system.

As the South China Morning Post reports, Peña called Taiwan’s absence from the UN a stain on the United Nations. He also said that Paraguay is ready to be among the participants in any peace talks on the situation in the Taiwan Strait.

Risks of conflict in the strait

The Paraguayan president warned of rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific region. In his view, a conflict in the strait could pose a greater threat than the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and affect Japan, other countries in East and Southeast Asia, as well as global microchip supplies.

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Peña said that microchips have become for the 21st century what oil was for the previous one. He explained his support for Taiwan by shared democratic values rather than political expediency and emphasized Paraguay’s support for the island.

Relations between Paraguay and Taiwan

Paraguay established relations with Taipei in 1957 and remains the only South American country that recognizes Taiwan. The country is among Taiwan’s 12 remaining diplomatic allies.

Taiwan represented China at the UN, including holding a permanent seat on the Security Council, until October 1971. At that time, the General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758, recognizing the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate representative of China at the UN. Taipei maintains that the resolution concerned only China’s representation, not the island’s sovereign status. Beijing considers Taiwan part of China and allows for reunification with the mainland by force.