By Ben Blanchard
TAIPEI, May 2 (Reuters) – Taiwan President Lai Ching-te reached Eswatini on Saturday, two weeks after he was forced to postpone a trip to a diplomatic ally because Indian Ocean states had blocked his flight, which Taiwan’s government blamed on Beijing’s pressure.
Eswatini in southern Africa is one of just 12 small states, mostly in Latin America, the Caribbean and the Pacific, that have diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Maintaining ties with them is a priority for the government of the democratically ruled island, which China views as part of its own territory.
Last month, Lai postponed a visit to attend the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession, with Taiwan saying the Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar had unilaterally revoked flight permits for Lai’s aircraft to cross airspace they manage because of Chinese pressure.
That was the first time a Taiwan president had cancelled an entire foreign trip due to denial of airspace access, representing what appeared to be a new Chinese strategy to curb the island’s international engagement.
In posts on his Facebook and X accounts, Lai said he had arrived in Eswatini on Saturday on a trip not previously announced by either government.
“Taiwan will never be deterred by external pressures. Our resolve & commitment are underpinned by the understanding that Taiwan will continue to engage with the world – no matter the challenges faced,” he wrote in English on X.
Neither his posts nor a statement from his office on the trip mentioned how he had gotten there, though he showed a picture of himself stepping off what looked like an Eswatini government jet which this week brought Deputy Prime Minister Thulisile Dladla to Taipei.
China’s Foreign Ministry said Lai had “secretly slipped aboard a foreign aircraft and sneaked out of Taiwan, lavishly squandering public funds”.
“No matter how the Democratic Progressive Party authorities collude with external forces or in what form they ‘buy the loyalty of others,’ it is all a futile effort that cannot change the fact that Taiwan is part of China,” it said in a statement referring to Lai’s party.
Lai’s cancelled plans last month had prompted criticism of China from the U.S., and concern from the European Union, Britain, France and Germany.
Lai rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying Taiwan has a right to engage with other countries and only the island’s people can decide their future.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Additional reporting by Engen Tham in ShanghaiEditing by Keith Weir and Peter Graff)
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