Taiwan President Lai Ching-te scrapped a planned visit to Eswatini after three African nations revoked permission for his aircraft to cross their airspace, in what Taiwan says was the direct result of Chinese pressure. It marks the first time a Taiwanese leader has been forced to cancel a foreign trip because of revoked overflight permits.
Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar pulled the permits following what a Taiwan official described as "intense pressure" and economic coercion from Beijing. China denied applying coercion but issued a statement saying it had "high appreciation" for the three countries' decisions.
Lai had been traveling to Eswatini, the small southern African kingdom formerly known as Swaziland, to attend celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III's accession to the throne. Eswatini is Taiwan's only diplomatic ally on the African continent and one of just 12 countries worldwide that formally recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state. Most of the others are small nations in Latin America or the Pacific.
In a statement posted to X, Lai accused Beijing of exposing "the risks authoritarian regimes pose to the international order." He added that "no amount of threats or coercion will shake Taiwan's resolve to engage with the world." Eswatini's government called the cancellation regrettable but said it would not alter the "longstanding bilateral relationship" between the two governments.
China's Taiwan Affairs Office said Beijing "appreciated the position and actions of the relevant countries in upholding the one-China principle." China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs went further, stating that "the so-called 'President of the Republic of China' no longer exists in the world" — a reference to Lai's official title under Taiwan's constitutional framework.
According to Reuters, Seychelles and Madagascar justified their decisions by stating they do not recognize Taiwan. Beijing maintains that Taiwan is a breakaway province that will eventually be reunified with the mainland, and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve that goal. The Chinese government has previously described Lai as a "troublemaker" and a "destroyer of cross-strait peace."
The cancellation drew criticism from Washington. The House Foreign Affairs Committee Majority posted on X that they "stood with Taiwan against this blatant coercion." Senator Ted Cruz separately criticized Mauritius, saying the island nation appeared "determined to ally with the Chinese Communist Party."
