Nicaragua, a Taiwan's ally, has turned to China

Nicaragua's decision to break ties with Taiwan and resume diplomatic relations with the mainland has been hailed by China as the "correct move in accordance with world trends."

Nicaragua broke diplomatic ties with Taiwan on Thursday, pledging loyalty to Beijing in support of the Communist Party of China's (CPC) "One China policy," which recognises that there is only one China, the mainland or the People's Republic of China (PRC), and Taiwan is a part of it.

Only 14 nations have official links with Taiwan, a rapidly shrinking pool of foreign friends in the face of China's growing economic and political might; Taipei's Central American allies are Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras.

Taiwan reacted fast, Reuters reported from Taipei, expressing "sad and regret" over the decision and claiming that Nicaragua's president, Daniel Ortega, had disrespected the friendship between the two countries' peoples.

Chinese state media claimed on Friday that delegations from China and Nicaragua met in Tianjin, China, a day after Nicaragua's foreign ministry stated it was breaking "diplomatic relations" with Taiwan.

"The Government of the Republic of Nicaragua declares that it recognises that in the world there is only one single China," its foreign ministry said in an announcement released in Managua.

"The People's Republic of China is the only legitimate government that represents all of China and Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory," the statement from Nicaragua added.

The Chinese foreign ministry was quick to applaud the decision, stating that the two nations had signed a Joint Communiqué on the Resumption of Diplomatic Relations Between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Nicaragua on December 10th.

"The two governments have decided to recognise each other and resume diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level, effective from the date of signature of this communiqué," the Chinese foreign ministry said.

"There is but one China in the world and the Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal Government representing the whole of China," the statement said, adding: "Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. These facts are grounded in history and law, and represent a universally agreed norm governing international relations."

"This is the right choice that is in line with the global trend and has people's support. China highly appreciates this decision," the statement said.

China claims Taiwan is a separatist province with no claim to statehood, and has not ruled out the use of force to reunite it.