TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday (March 14) urged Paraguay to continue to work with Taiwan on dealing with the pandemic amid a shortage of vaccines and pressure from China to switch ties from Taipei to Beijing.

On Sunday, Blinken made an official call to Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez in which he reiterated the U.S.' support for Paraguay's battle with the coronavirus as cases there continue to rise. In response to recent unrest in the South American country, Blinken stressed the importance of free speech and peaceful protests while condemning "recent acts of violence," a reference to clashes between police and protestors.

Abdo has recently faced calls to step down as protests mount in the country over a lack of medicine and intensive care beds as well as the slow rollout of vaccines as the outbreak intensifies. Paraguay has confirmed 180,000 coronavirus cases and 3,456 deaths.

Taiwan's sole remaining diplomatic ally in South America, Paraguay, has received only 4,000 doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine and 20,000 of China's Sinovac vaccine, according to The New York Times. Political pundits suggest China could leverage this situation and offer dramatically more of its domestically produced jabs in exchange for dropping ties with Taipei in favor of Beijing.

In an apparent effort to encourage Paraguay to maintain its relations with Taiwan, Blinken emphasized the "importance of continuing to work with democratic regional and global partners, including Taiwan, to overcome this global pandemic, combat corruption, and increase transparency and accountability." Last week, Paraguay's Senate approved a plan to direct US$12.8 million in funds from Taiwan, originally meant for a housing project, to purchase two million vaccine doses, reported Reuters.

Last July, Abdo rejected a bid by China to get Paraguay to switch diplomatic recognition. At the time, coronavirus cases were relatively low in the country, with the surge starting two months later.