Costa Rican media revealed that the Intelligence and Security Department of Costa Rica (DIS) recently dispatched 5 officials to Taiwan to participate in intelligence security training. This marks the first official intelligence exchange and interaction between the two governments since Costa Rica cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 2007.
According to a report by Costa Rican media outlet “La Nacion,” these 5 Costa Rican intelligence officials traveled to Taiwan in May to undergo a 23-day national security intelligence training course. This move has drawn discontent from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), with the Chinese Embassy in Costa Rica issuing a statement on the 14th, claiming that this action violates the One China policy and firmly opposes any form of official exchanges between Costa Rica and Taiwan.
However, the Facebook page of the Chinese Embassy has been flooded with numerous dissatisfied comments from Costa Rican citizens, not only voicing support for Taiwan as a free, democratic, and independent country but also criticizing CCP interference in Costa Rican sovereignty and even sarcastically suggesting that people study the history of the Tiananmen Square incident.
Costa Rica’s government has not responded to the protest from the CCP, and Costa Rican media has described this training of intelligence officials in Taiwan as “dancing around China’s red line.” The question of whether the CCP will take retaliatory measures against Costa Rica or if Costa Rica will continue to uphold its stance on exchanges with Taiwan without being affected has sparked high levels of attention for future developments.
However, Costa Rica and the CCP have previously had confrontations over communication network security issues. In August 2023, the Costa Rican government issued an executive order prohibiting companies from non-signatory countries to the Budapest Convention from participating in the construction of Costa Rica’s 5G telecommunications network. This not only caused dissatisfaction with the CCP government but also led Huawei to file a lawsuit against the Costa Rican government, claiming that it damages Huawei’s business interests and violates international treaties, demanding the lifting of the ban.
Nevertheless, the lawsuit seeking to lift the ban on Huawei was rejected by a Costa Rican court in February this year. The Costa Rican court emphasized that public interest supersedes corporate business interests, with the government’s primary concern being the protection of user privacy and national security, effectively excluding Chinese telecom industries including Huawei from Costa Rica.
Furthermore, Huawei was investigated by judicial authorities last December for allegedly obtaining a contract for Costa Rica’s 5G communication equipment through long-term bribery of local officials and fraudulent means. Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves not only publicly condemned Huawei as “one of the most blatant and largest scandals in history” but also stressed that the Costa Rican government has initiated criminal proceedings against Huawei, its Chinese general manager in Costa Rica, and Costa Rican officials involved in corruption.
During a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Chaves in February, Rubio praised Costa Rica for standing firm and excluding Huawei from entering the local 5G network, calling it a role model for the Latin American region and the world.
Aware of the long-term threat posed by China utilizing Huawei to heavily invest in the 5G telecommunication network construction in Central America, the United States started strengthening cooperation with regional countries since the Biden era to collectively prevent Huawei’s expansion. President Trump’s administration has been even more proactive in this regard.
Not only Costa Rica, but the Panamanian government recently announced a collaboration with the U.S. government to dismantle the 13 telecommunications towers set up by Huawei nationwide and replace them with telecommunication facilities using American technology to reduce the network security threats from the CCP in Latin America and counter their “malicious influences.”
(Courtesy of Central News Agency)