A landmark development in cross-strait diplomatic tensions has forced Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te to scrap a planned overseas trip to Eswatini, marking the first publicly recorded instance of a Taiwanese leader abandoning a foreign journey after multiple countries revoked required overflight access.
Lai was scheduled to travel to the southern African nation, Taiwan’s only remaining diplomatic ally on the continent, to participate in celebrations marking 40 years of King Mswati III’s reign. According to senior Taiwanese officials, three island nations in the Indian Ocean — Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar — withdrew their previously granted overflight permissions following what Taipei describes as “intense pressure” and economic coercion from Beijing.
In a public statement posted to the social platform X, Lai pushed back against Beijing’s actions, framing the permit revocations as clear examples of authoritarian coercion that highlight broader threats to global international order. “No amount of threats or coercion will shake Taiwan’s resolve to engage with the world,” Lai wrote.
For its part, Beijing has rejected accusations of coercion, instead praising the three African countries for upholding the long-standing one-China principle, which forms the foundation of Beijing’s territorial claim to the self-governing island. In official comments, a spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office expressed “high appreciation” for the position taken by Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs went further, reiterating that no official title of “President of the Republic of China” holds any international recognition, in a direct rebuke of Lai’s status. Both Seychelles and Madagascar have publicly confirmed their decision to revoke permits stems from their non-recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign state, aligning with Beijing’s position.
Eswatini’s government has expressed regret over the canceled visit but emphasized that the disruption will not alter the long-standing bilateral diplomatic ties between the two nations. Currently, only 12 United Nations member states around the world recognize Taiwan diplomatically, most of them small island nations in Latin America and the Pacific.
Cross-strait relations have remained strained since Lai took office, with Beijing repeatedly labeling Lai a “troublemaker” who threatens cross-strait peace. Beijing maintains that Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory, a position it has defended for decades, and has not ruled out the use of military force to bring the island under its control. Most of the international community, including the United Nations, recognizes the one-China principle, though many Western nations maintain unofficial economic and cultural ties with Taiwan.
The cancellation has already drawn criticism from U.S. political leaders. The majority staff of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee issued a statement on X affirming that it “stood with Taiwan against this blatant coercion.” U.S. Senator Ted Cruz also publicly condemned Mauritius’s decision, claiming the country was “determined to ally with the Chinese Communist Party.”