Lai Ching-te had been scheduled to travel to Eswatini, which Taiwan describes as its sole remaining diplomatic ally in Africa, from April 22-26. But after the withdrawal of overflight permissions, Taiwan’s president postponed the trip, according to a statement from Lai’s office Tuesday.
Taiwan’s president cited the route disruptions in explaining the change in plans. Pan Meng-an, the secretary-general to the president, told journalists in Taipei that “The cancellation of flight permits by Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar without prior warning was actually due to strong pressure from the Chinese authorities, including economic coercion.” Pan said the cancellations reflected what he characterized as outside interference.
Pan also said China’s alleged pressure “constitutes blatant interference in the internal affairs of other countries, disrupts the regional status quo and hurts the feelings of the Taiwanese people,” according to Taiwan’s office account of his remarks. China, which regards Taiwan as part of its territory, prohibits countries that maintain diplomatic relations with Taipei from sustaining formal ties with Beijing, the report said.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded in a statement that it “wanted to express” its “high appreciation” for the actions. The ministry said the “relevant countries’ adherence to the one-China principle is in full compliance with international law,” as reported by The Associated Press.
The governments of Mauritius and Seychelles and the office of the Madagascar president did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to the report. Eswatini, for its part, said it regretted Lai wasn’t able to visit but that the postponement “does not change the status of our longstanding bilateral relations.”
The episode fits into a broader diplomatic pattern that Taiwan has described in recent years. Taipei has said Beijing has intensified a campaign to “poach” its diplomatic allies, often while funding infrastructure and other projects in less-developed countries, the Associated Press report said. It said Taiwan now has formal ties with only 12 countries, mostly in Latin America, the Caribbean and the Pacific.
In recent months, the report said the Pacific island nation of Nauru switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in January 2024, following similar moves by Honduras in 2023 and Nicaragua in 2021. The Associated Press also said the last visit by a Taiwanese president to Eswatini was in 2023, when former President Tsai Ing-wen met with King Mswati III.