TAIPEI — Taiwan President Lai Ching-te has canceled a presidential trip to the African nation of Eswatini, with his government accusing Beijing of putting pressure on three neighboring countries to bar his aircraft from flying over their territories.
The small southern African nation of Eswatini is one of only 12 countries to retain formal ties with Taiwan. Lai was due to leave on Wednesday for the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession.
This is the first publicly known instance where a Taiwanese leader has had to cancel a foreign trip due to revoked flight permits.
Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Meng-an said the Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar unilaterally revoked flight permits for the presidential aircraft to cross their countries on his journey without prior warning.
“The actual reason was intense pressure exerted by Chinese authorities, including economic coercion,” he told a hastily called news conference in Taipei.
China, which has deep economic and political ties with Africa, denied coercion, while praising the three African countries saying it had “high appreciation” for them.
Speaking to Mozambique’s President Daniel Chapo in Beijing on Tuesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged support for the continent and its development needs, according to a state media read-out that did not mention Lai’s canceled visit to Eswatini.
Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in Africa.
China adheres to the “one China” principle, in which Beijing asserts sovereignty over Taiwan though many in Taiwan consider themselves to be a sovereign nation.
Beijing sees the self-governed island as a breakaway province that will eventually be part of the country, and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve this.
The Chinese government has been vocal in its dislike of Lai, whom it has previously described as a “troublemaker” and a “destroyer of cross-strait peace”.
In a statement on X, Lai criticised China’s “coercive actions”, saying that it “exposed the risks authoritarian regimes pose to the international order”.
“No amount of threats or coercion will shake Taiwan’s resolve to engage with the world.”
Eswatini’s government said it was regrettable that Lai was unable to visit, but that this would not “change the status of our longstanding bilateral relationship”, according to reports.
Lai was meant to attend a celebration marking the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession.
At a press briefing on Wednesday, a spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said Beijing “appreciated the position and actions of the relevant countries in upholding the one-China principle”.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said that it was “clear…[that] the so-called ‘President of the Republic of China’ no longer exists in the world”, in a reference to Lai’s official title in Taiwan.
According to news agency Reuters, Seychelles and Madagascar said they took the decision because they do not recognize Taiwan.. — Agencies
Source: Saudi Gazette