Taiwan President cancels Africa trip, says China’s ‘coercive actions’ undermining status quo

Taipei: Taiwan’s President, Lai Ching-te’s visit to the African nation of Eswatini has been cancelled as overflight clearances were revoked for his flight by multiple nations.

Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an said Tuesday that Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar “unexpectedly and without justification rescinded overflight permission” for the chartered plane that Lai, his national security team and the press corps were scheduled to take, reported Central News Agency’s Focus Taiwan.

Pan further called the move “unprecedented” and cited China’s “economic coercion” for the cancellation.

“China’s coercive actions undermine the status quo, once again exposing the risks authoritarian regimes pose to the international order. Ahead of my visit to Eswatini, several countries along our flight route abruptly revoked overflight clearance under pressure from China,” Taiwan President Lai Ching-te posted on X.

The chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party stated that “no amount of threats or coercion” will shake Taiwan’s resolve to engage with the world or diminish its contributions to the global community.

“Our determination to build friendships around the world with like-minded partners remains steadfast despite external pressure,” he added.

Lai Ching-te was scheduled to visit the African nation from April 24 to 26. According to the office of the President, the visit was to coincide with “the 40th anniversary of His Majesty King Mswati III’s accession to the throne” and “his Majesty’s 58th birthday.”

According to Lai Ching-te’s office, King Mswati III had sent a personally-signed letter cordially inviting the President to attend these historic celebrations, and noted that the king had travelled to Taiwan in 2024 to attend the inauguration of the 16th-term president and vice president.

The three core objectives of the now-cancelled visit, the office stated, were shared prosperity in security, prosperity in the economy, and prosperity in digital technology. It was thus titled, “Celebrating Together, Prospering Together.”

IANS