But what was the main reason that drove this high level delegation to visit Belize? Well, the media asked if it had anything to do with other Central American countries cutting ties with Taiwan and switching to China. Here's what Erikson explained.

Daniel Erikson, Deputy Assistant Sec. of Defense, Western Hemisphere
"In the case of Belize, there's a few reasons the visit took place now but one is really that we think it is a great opportunity currently to work with the government. We note the number of accomplishments they've had to date and so we really wanted to build on that and to bring together the different aspects of the US government to do that including the Department of Defense, the agency for international development, the state department, and also with the leadership of the vice president's office. We think that the most important thing the United States can do in this region is to have a positive agenda, working with our partners in the region and so that is really what we're here to advance today. We do recognize that Belize maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan, we think that this is an important symbol and in reality of Belize foreign policy and so we do respect that as well."