Taiwan’s Lai Ching-te to visit remaining Pacific allies
Hong Kong Free Press
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te will visit three Pacific island nation allies from the end of this month in his first overseas trip since taking office, the presidential office said Friday.
Presidential spokeswoman Karen Kuo said Lai will visit the Marshall Islands, Palau and Tuvalu — the only Pacific island nations among Taiwan’s 12 remaining allies — from November 30 to December 6.
Communist China and democratic Taiwan have been ruled separately for 75 years, but Beijing claims the island as part of its territory and has been pressuring countries to drop diplomatic ties with Taipei.
Taiwanese government officials have previously stopped over on US soil during visits to the Pacific or Latin America, angering Beijing.
Asked if Lai would stopover on US territory, Deputy Foreign Minister Tien Chung-kwang told a news conference on Friday that transits for Lai’s upcoming trip had not been finalised and he did not provide further details.
“This is President Lai’s first visit to allies since he took office, which is particularly meaningful,” Tien said.
“All visits and programmes are being planned and arranged smoothly.”
Kuo said the trip would show “that we take our Pacific allies seriously” and “continue to deepen the close and friendly partnership” with them.
“As a long-term partner and good friend of the Marshall Islands, we look forward to the warmly receiving President Lai,” the office of Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine said on Facebook, echoing similar posts by Tuvalu and Palau.
‘Separatist’
The United States is Taiwan’s most important partner and main security backer but does not recognise Taipei diplomatically.
Lai’s predecessor Tsai Ing-wen transited through Hawaii and the US territory of Guam during her visit to Pacific allies in 2017.
Tsai also met then-US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California in April 2023 during a Latin America trip, to which Beijing responded with military drills around the island.
Tensions between China and Taiwan have escalated since Lai took office in May.
Lai and Tsai both belong to the Democratic Progressive Party, but Lai has been more outspoken in his defence of the island’s sovereignty and Beijing calls him a “separatist”.
Tien called on China “not to cause unnecessary interference” during Lai’s trip, such as mobilising its citizens living abroad.
“I think China will use many tactics to create certain obstacles or hindrances but we are not going to dance to their tune,” Tien said.
“We do what we are supposed to do, and we plan what we are supposed to plan.”
‘Red line’
The dispute between Beijing and Taipei dates back to 1949 when Chiang Kai-shek’s nationalist forces lost a civil war to Mao Zedong’s communist fighters and fled to Taiwan.
China has refused to rule out the use of force to seize Taiwan and in recent years has ramped up military activity around the island to pressure Taipei into accepting its claims of sovereignty.
Though Taiwan has its own government, military and currency, it has never formally declared independence and lives under the constant threat of invasion by China.
Beijing opposes international support that gives a sense of legitimacy to Taiwan and has blocked Taipei from many global forums and whittled down its diplomatic allies.
The United States and China have long butted heads over the island of 23 million people which has evolved into a powerhouse in the semiconductor industry.
China on Thursday blamed Washington’s support for Taiwan for the failure of the two countries’ defence ministers to meet this week.
On Saturday, Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned US President Joe Biden that support for Taiwan was a “red line that must not be challenged” during a meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru.
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