The Central American Parliament on Monday voted to expel Taiwan after more than two decades as a permanent observer and replace it with China, whose growing economic influence in Latin America has increasingly marginalised Taipei.

The six-nation parliament, known as Parlacen, convened in the Nicaraguan capital Managua where local legislators proposed adding China, which claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory.

Taiwan’s foreign ministry said it had decided to withdraw from Parlacen immediately in the interest of upholding “national dignity”, and condemned what it called Chinese efforts to suppress Taiwan’s international participation.

In a statement, Parlacen cited the United Nations’ 1971 expulsion of Taiwan in favour of China, saying this deemed Taiwan to be a “province of mainland China, which disqualifies it from participating as an independent country”.

China’s Taiwan affairs office expressed its approval of Parlacen’s “correct decision”.

Beijing has expanded its influence in Central America, with Parlacen members Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama and the Dominican Republic breaking off diplomatic relations with Taiwan in recent years.

US senators Tim Kaine, a Democrat, and Marco Rubio, a Republican, who lead a Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, condemned the vote.

“Since 1999, Taiwan has served as a strong partner in its role as a permanent observer of the Central American Parliament, encouraging good governance and economic development in our hemisphere,” the senators said in a joint statement. Reuters