Gov't quiet on rumored Lai trip to South Pacific with U.S. stopover

Taipei, Nov. 14 (CNA) A national security official on Thursday declined to confirm media reports that President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) was planning a trip to Taiwan's South Pacific allies with a stopover in the U.S. state of Hawaii as soon as late November.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told CNA that the planning of the president's overseas visits "proceeds according to the original pace" and that "there will be no surprise."

The official added any such visit would be "announced when the time is ripe."

Local media has reported that Lai was planning to visit the South Pacific in late November or early December and would stop over in Hawaii, a noncontiguous state of the United States.

Taiwan currently has 12 diplomatic allies, three of which are in the South Pacific, namely Palau, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands.

Rumors about Lai embarking on his overseas visit after taking office in May have circulated intermittently for months, with the Presidential Office responding only that "any such arrangements will be reported to the public in due time."

Despite a lack of formal diplomatic relations, Washington has over the years allowed Taiwanese presidents to make stopovers on U.S. soil during their trips to visit Taiwan's diplomatic allies.

How they were received in the U.S. was often interpreted by the media as a sign of how Washington wanted to handle its relations with Taipei.

Former President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) traveled to the South Pacific twice during her two four-year tenures, in 2017 and 2019. Her 2017 trip included layovers in Honolulu, Hawaii and Guam.