WASHINGTON/TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te plans to stop in Hawaii and possibly the island of Guam when he visits Taipei's diplomatic allies in the Pacific, sources said to Reuters.
Lai Ching-te, who was elected in January, has not yet traveled abroad since taking office in May.
China, which calls Taiwan's president a “separatist”, considers Taiwan an integral part of its territory and systematically opposes any interaction between the Taiwanese government and foreign officials.
Six sources, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, told Reuters that the Taiwanese president was planning a stopover in Hawaii during an overseas trip scheduled to begin in the coming weeks.
A stopover in the U.S. western Pacific territory of Guam is also being considered, four of the sources said.
Major US military bases are located in Hawaii and the island of Guam.
Two of the sources said the stops would be part of a visit by Lai Ching-te to Taiwan's diplomatic allies in the Pacific.
Reuters was unable to determine precisely which countries Lai Ching-te is scheduled to visit, nor the dates on which those trips are planned.
The Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau are three of the twelve states that still maintain official relations with Taipei
Lai Ching-te “currently has no overseas trips planned,” the Taiwanese presidency said, adding that, if necessary, the government would announce such a trip at the appropriate time.
The United States, Taiwan's primary military supporters, maintains no official diplomatic relations with the island.
A State Department spokesperson declined to comment.
Lai Ching-te's trip would come shortly before Donald Trump's return to the White House, when the latter declared during his electoral campaign that the island should pay the United States for its defense.
(With David Brunnstrom in Washington and Kirsty Needham in Sydney; French version Camille Raynaud)
by Michael Martina, Trevor Hunnicutt, Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard
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