(AFP) – The United States slammed China’s “intimidation campaign” on Wednesday after several African countries were reportedly pressured by Beijing to derail an official trip by Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te by revoking overflight permits.
Taiwan announced Tuesday that Lai was postponing his trip to Eswatini — the island’s only diplomatic ally in Africa — after “Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar unexpectedly and without prior notice revoked the charter’s overflight permits.” China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and opposes the self-governed island’s participation in international organisations and exchanges with other countries.
“We are concerned by reports that several countries revoked overflight clearances to prevent the Taiwan president from visiting Eswatini,” a US State Department spokesperson told AFP. “These countries are acting at the behest of China by interfering in the safety and dignity of routine travel by Taiwan officials,” the spokesperson added, without naming the countries. “This is yet another case of Beijing waging its intimidation campaign against Taiwan and Taiwan’s supporters around the world.”
Lai’s secretary-general Pan Men-an earlier said “the real reason is that the Chinese authorities exerted intense pressure including economic coercion.” China’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that Washington’s remarks were “baseless accusations.” “The US has irresponsibly criticised China’s legitimate actions to safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” spokesman Guo Jiakun told a news briefing. “Such conduct constitutes a complete distortion of facts and a confounding of right and wrong,” he added.
Washington does not officially recognize Taiwan, but is the island territory’s main security backer — though the tone of that support has softened slightly under US President Donald Trump. The US leader is due to meet China’s President Xi Jinping next month.
Beijing said on Wednesday it had “high appreciation” for the African countries that blocked the permits for Lai’s trip planned for this week. “Relevant countries maintained support for the one-China principle, completely in line with… the basic norms of international relations, China expresses high appreciation,” a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said in a statement.
Lai’s last official overseas trip was in November 2024, when he visited Taiwan’s Pacific allies and transited through the US territory of Guam. Trump’s administration reportedly denied Lai permission to transit through New York last year as part of an official trip to Latin America. Taiwan’s foreign ministry denied that he was blocked.
© 2024 AFP
