China considers the island of Taiwan as one of its provinces to be reunited with the rest of its territory and does not completely rule out using force to achieve this. For his first foreign trip since taking office in May, President Lai is scheduled to visit the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau, the only nations in the region among the 12 remaining to recognize Taiwan.
Before spending two nights in Hawaii and one in Guam, to meet “old friends” and “members of think tanks,” said a source at the presidency on condition of anonymity. In a speech before takeoff, Mr. Lai said the tour “marked a new era of values-based democracy” and he thanked the U.S. government for “facilitating this trip.”
The leader said he wanted to “advance cooperation and deepen partnerships with our allies, based on the values of democracy, peace and prosperity.” Taiwan deployed F-16 fighter jets to escort the plane carrying the Taiwanese president, his delegation and several media outlets.
“During the next seven days, we will be able to work together to allow Taiwan to join the international scene, with seriousness and confidence,” he declared.
Beijing opposes any official contact between Taipei and foreign representatives. More broadly, China seeks to erase it from the international scene by preventing it from participating in international forums and pressuring companies to label Taiwan a “Chinese province” on their websites.
Beijing has repeatedly called Lai Ching-te a “separatist” and increased military pressure around the island in recent years with numerous maneuvers.
Taiwanese officials have already stopped on American soil during trips to the Pacific or Latin America.
This was the case of Lai Ching-te’s predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen, who passed through these same American territories in 2017. In 2023, she met in California with Kevin McCarthy, then Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. United. Beijing responded to this meeting with military exercises around Taiwan. Earlier in November, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung met with members of the European Parliament in Brussels.
Washington has recognized Beijing to the detriment of Taipei since 1979 but remains in fact Taiwan’s most powerful ally and its main arms supplier.
The United States also announced on Friday that it had approved the potential sale of spare parts for F-16 fighter jets and radar systems to Taiwan, for an amount estimated at $320 million.
On Friday, the day after Mr. Lai’s route was announced, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said it had detected 33 planes and eight Chinese warships in its airspace and waters in 24 hours. This was the largest deployment in the previous three weeks.
