Taiwan offered new scholarships for Latin American students who want to pursue graduate studies and learn Chinese on the island, the Taiwanese Education Ministry said. It's the latest move in a competition between China and Taiwan, which are vying for diplomatic relations in the region.

Taiwan reached an agreement with 17 Latin American universities to provide 20 scholarships to students from the region, the ministry's International Relations Office said.

Ten scholarships will go to doctoral students, providing them with monthly stipends of $828 for a three-year period.

Master's students will get two-year scholarships with monthly stipends of $828, the ministry said.

The majority of the scholarship recipients will attend Chiao Tung University in Hsinchu City, which is located in northern Taiwan and is home to a leading scientific and industrial park.

China and Taiwan have waged a diplomatic battle ever since they split amid civil war in 1949. China refuses to have diplomatic ties with nations that recognize Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a renegade province.

Last year, Costa Rica established diplomatic relations with China and broke ties with longtime friend Taiwan.

China returned the favor with a $20 million aid package to help rebuild Costa Rican roads, bridges and dikes damaged by heavy rains and flooding in October 2007 as well as the gift of a new national stadium.

Central America has been a bulwark of support for Taiwan, and Costa Rica's decision to break off relations prompted fears that more nations in that region could follow suit.

Taiwan currently has diplomatic ties with 23 countries, 12 of which are in the Americas. Paraguay is its only diplomatic friend in South America.

However, Latin American students make up only 1% of Chiao Tung University's foreign student population, according to a report in Taipei Times.

“To encourage elite students from the region to study in Taiwan, the Ministry of Education has designated the university as a conduit to recruit students,” Chiao Tung President Wu Chung-yu said, according to the Taipei newspaper.