Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te had a 20-minute call with former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday during a visit to Hawaii, during which they discussed military threats of China, the official Central News Agency reported.
Mr. Lai is officially stopping in Hawaii as part of a week-long visit to the Pacific, a trip that China has condemned by saying it opposes any stopovers by Taiwanese leaders on American soil.
China considers democratically governed Taiwan its own territory, a position that Lai and his government reject.
Taiwan's Central News Agency, citing presidential office spokeswoman Karen Kuo, said the conversation between Mr. Lai and Ms. Pelosi was warm and cordial, and the two men discussed semiconductors , artificial intelligence and the military threat that China poses to Taiwan.
Ms. Pelosi remains a prominent member of the Democratic Party.
China has staged war games around the island in 2022, angered by Ms Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.
Security sources told Reuters that China could hold further exercises around Taiwan to coincide with Lai's trip to the Pacific.
The United States is Taiwan's main international supporter and arms supplier, even in the absence of formal diplomatic ties.
From Hawaii, Lai will travel to the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau, three of the twelve countries that maintain official relations with Taipei.
It will also make a stopover in the US territory of Guam.
