Taiwan 'Regrets' Costa Rica's High-Level Contact With China
Taipei - Taiwan on Thursday expressed concern about Costa Rican President Oscar Arias' meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing in New York, as China is wooing San José to drop Taipei and recognize Beijing.

'Costa Rica did not inform us in advance about President Arias' meeting with Li Zhaoxing,' Foreign Minister Huang Chih-fang told reporters.

'But the Costa Rican Foreign Ministry said this (meeting) was purely about economics and trade issues as China is Costa Rica's biggest export market in Asia, and has nothing to do with switching recognition to Beijing,' Huang said.

'At present out ties with Costa Rica is stable but we should not let down our vigilance,' he added.

However, China declared on Thursday it is seeking to establish diplomatic ties with Costa Rica.

'We are actively seeking to establish formal diplomatic ties with Costa Rica and hope the normalization of ties can come as soon as possible,' Qin Gang, spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told a news conference.

Arias met with Li on the sidelines of the 61st UN General Assembly on Wednesday. Li is scheduled to meet with the foreign minister of Guatemala, another ally of Taiwan, on Thursday, also in New York.

Li has invited the presidents or foreign ministers of all of Taiwan's five Central American allies for a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly under the guise of discussing the situation in Central America, Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Ching-long confirmed on Wednesday.

The invitations were issued through Mexico's foreign minister, and only Nicaragua has turned down the invitation, Lu said.

Taiwanese press reported Thursday that China's diplomatic offensive has already achieved results.

While Taiwan's allies have traditionally voiced support of Taiwan's rejoining the United Nations at previous UN General Assemblies, the presidents of Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama and the Dominican Republic did not mention Taiwan in their speeches in the current session, the United Evening News said.

Li Zhaoxing may also invite the presidents or foreign ministers of Honduras and El Salvador for a meeting during the current UN General Assembly, the evening paper said.

China is fighting a diplomatic war to win over Taiwan's 24 diplomatic allies, 14 of which are in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Taiwan-China tug-of-war has benefited Taiwan's diplomatic allies, some of which have switched back and forth between Taipei and Beijing several times depending on which country provided the most aid.

China regards Taiwan - seat of the exiled Republic of China since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949 - as a breakaway province awaiting reunification with the mainland. A total of 170 countries recognize China's view of Taiwan.