Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te took off on Saturday for a tour of three Pacific countries, marking, according to him, a “new democratic era”with two stopovers planned in the American territories of Hawaii and Guam during this trip which arouses the ire of Beijing.
The China Airlines flight, which carried Mr. Lai, took off from Taipei shortly before 5:00 p.m. local time (09:00 GMT), noted an AFP journalist on board his plane.
China considers the island of Taiwan as one of its provinces to be reunited with the rest of its territory and does not 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”a source at the presidency told AFP on condition of anonymity.
In a speech before takeoff, Lai said the tour “marked a new democratic era based on values” and he thanked the American government for “made this trip easier”.
The leader indicated that he wanted “advance cooperation and deepen partnerships with our allies, based on the values of democracy, peace and prosperity”.
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 businesses to label Taiwan as a “Chinese province” on their websites.
Beijing has described Lai Ching-te as “separatist” repeatedly and increased the military pressure around the island in recent years with numerous maneuvers.
“Partnership” with the United States
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.
“I think that the People’s Republic of China (official name of China, Editor’s note) always wants to give the impression that Taiwan is isolated and dependent” from her, analysis for AFP Bonnie Glaser, analyst at the German Marshall Fund think tank.
“When a Taiwanese president travels outside of Taiwan, it is a reminder that there are countries around the world that value their relationship with Taiwan”she adds, emphasizing the island’s major role in the semiconductor industry.
“And, of course, when it passes through the United States, it is a reminder (…) that the United States and Taiwan have a close partnership”.
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.
