BEIJING, Oct 12: Chinese sanctions against ministers from Paraguay and Belize over their diplomatic relations with Taiwan were "a warning to others", Beijing said Monday, taking aim at two of the democratic island's few remaining allies.
Latin America is a key diplomatic battleground between China and Taiwan. Beijing claims the island as part of its territory and has systematically pressured countries to cut ties with Taipei in a bid to isolate it.
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said the sanctions against Paraguay's Communications Minister Gustavo Villate and Belize's Foreign Minister Francis Fonseca were designed to "penalise them and serve as a warning to others."
"Certain politicians in Paraguay and Belize have willingly served as pawns of the Taiwan authorities in their attempts to seek 'independence' through external support," Mao told a regular news briefing.
The measures against the Latin American ministers include the freezing of their assets in China, visa denials and the banning of Chinese organisations from doing business with them, Beijing's foreign ministry said earlier.
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The ministers had "taken a series of egregious actions and statements... damaging China's core interests", the ministry said.
The sanctions were in order to "safeguard national security" and "oppose separatist activities", it added.
Taiwan's foreign ministry did not immediately issue a response to the sanctions against the officials.
The move comes two days after Taiwan celebrated its national day, with President Lai Ching-te delivering a speech that defended the island's increasing investment in defence, angering Beijing.
Villate marked Taiwan's national day on social media saying "Paraguay reaffirms its relationship of friendship and cooperation, based on shared values and principles: the self-determination of peoples, human rights and democracy".
Taipei has only 12 diplomatic allies as Beijing, which has threatened to use force to seize the island, seeks to whittle away international support for Taipei.
Paraguay's President Santiago Pena, who has described Taiwan as a "fundamental partner" for the South American country, visited Taipei this year, where he signed a raft of agreements on mutual legal assistance on criminal matters, cybersecurity cooperation and AI and computing investment.
Last month, Taiwan's Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung also visited Belize, where his ministry said the two sides agreed to deepen ties.
Taiwan's other allies in the Americas are Guatemala and Haiti. It also has formal diplomatic ties with several Caribbean islands.