Taiwan won’t give in to pressure, President Lai says on return from Eswatini

TAOYUAN – Taiwan President Lai Ching-te arrived home from his trip to Eswatini in southern Africa on May 5 saying Taiwan would not give in to pressure, after taking a circuitous route over the Indian Ocean to avoid airspace controlled by close friends of China.

China views democratically governed Taiwan as part of its territory with no right to state-to-state ties, a position Taiwan’s government strongly disputes, and Beijing has demanded that countries stop any engagements with the island.

Mr Lai’s government said China had forced three Indian Ocean states – the Seychelles, Mauritius and ​Madagascar – to deny overflight permission for his aircraft for a planned earlier trip in April to attend celebrations for the 40th anniversary of the accession of Eswatini’s King Mswati III.

Mr Lai arrived in the former Swaziland, one of just 12 countries with formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, on May 2.

Neither government had announced the trip in advance, and Mr Lai flew to Eswatini on the King’s private A340 jet, previously operated by Taiwan’s China Airlines, in defiance of Beijing’s anger.

“The world belongs to everyone. Taiwan belongs to the world. Taiwanese people are citizens of the world. Taiwanese people have the right to engage with the world. We will not retreat in the face of suppression,” Mr Lai said upon arrival at Taiwan’s main international airport at Taoyuan, outside of Taipei.

“The fact that this trip was obstructed at one point only made the world see Taiwan’s people’s firm determination and will to engage with the world,” he added.

There was no immediate response from the Chinese government, which last week likened Mr Lai to a “rat” for his “skulking” visit to Eswatini.

Mr Lai’s aircraft, the same A340, left Eswatini on May 4 for Taiwan, taking a long route over the bottom part of the Indian Ocean and avoiding the flight information regions of Mauritius and ​Madagascar, which both have deep economic and diplomatic ties with Beijing.

Then aircraft then flew over Australia’s Christmas Island, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, before entering Taiwan airspace for arrival into Taoyuan, according to flight tracking apps.

China has ramped up its efforts to squeeze Taiwan’s international space, saying Mr Lai is a “separatist” and the island merely a Chinese province with no right to the trappings of a state. Mr Lai rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying Taiwan has a right to engage with the world.

Referring to Mr Lai’s trip to Eswatini, the US State Department said Taiwan was a “trusted and capable” partner of the United States, with Taipei’s global relationships, including with Eswatini, providing significant benefits.

Mr Lai’s most recent international trip, before visiting Africa, was a tour of the Pacific, which included stopovers in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam, in late 2024. REUTERS