Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te arrived in the African nation of Eswatini on Saturday, announcing the trip on social media. In a post on X he said he had come to Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in Africa to “affirm our longstanding friendship” and added, “Taiwan will never be deterred by external pressures.”
Lai had planned to visit Eswatini from April 22-26 but was forced to postpone after Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar withdrew permission for his plane to fly over their territories. Taipei said those countries acted under pressure from China. Beijing denied applying economic pressure but said it had “high appreciation” for the three countries’ actions.
In a separate Facebook post, Lai said the visit was made possible by careful planning from his diplomatic and national security teams. He said the trip would deepen ties with Eswatini across economic, agricultural, cultural and educational fields.
China’s foreign ministry responded shortly after Lai’s announcement, calling the visit a “laughable stunt” and accusing Lai of being “smuggled” out of Taiwan. The ministry described the visit as an “undignified act” and a “losing cause,” reiterating that “nothing will ever change the fact that Taiwan is part of China.” It urged Eswatini and other countries to abandon support for what it called “Taiwan independence” separatists.
China regards democratically governed Taiwan as part of its territory and does not recognize Taiwan’s right to formal state-to-state relations. Over time, the number of countries with official diplomatic ties to Taiwan has fallen. Lai rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims and says Taiwan’s future should be decided by its people.
Currently, 12 states maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Most are in Latin America and the Caribbean: Belize, Guatemala, Paraguay, Haiti, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Three are in the Pacific: the Marshall Islands, Palau, and Tuvalu. One is in Africa (Eswatini) and one in Europe (the Vatican).
Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah