No force can break Eswatini-Taiwan ties: Special royal envoy

Taipei, April 30 (CNA) Eswatini King Mswati III's special envoy met with President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) on Thursday, declaring bilateral ties unbreakable in the face of external force, following Lai's scrapped visit to her country due to Chinese pressure.

At the Presidential Office, Thulisile Dladla said King Mswati III had urged her to immediately visit Taiwan to thank Lai for dispatching Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) as his envoy and deliver a message to Lai.

The deputy prime minister of Eswatini said that the recent challenges -- which led to the cancellation of Lai's planned visit to her country last week -- have transformed the relationship from one of mere friends to "family."

"And that no force, no matter how strong it is, can break a family bond that existed for the past 58 years. No enemy can come in between a strong family," said Dladla.

The Presidential Office canceled Lai's trip to Eswatini, Taiwan's only ally in Africa, on the eve of his departure after Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar revoked overflight permissions, saying the move was the result of Beijing's economic coercion.

Lai was invited to attend celebrations in Eswatini on Saturday marking King Mswati III's 58th birthday and his 40th anniversary on the throne.

Dladla said that Lin's presence made a difference in the celebrations, adding that King Mswati III hopes Lai will visit the Kingdom one day, if not in the immediate future.

"You must come and visit the Kingdom to show the world that the airspace is free, the airspace is independent, and that Africa as a whole believes and has got a lot of confidence in the international law," Dladla said.

In his remarks, Lai said that Dladla's visit to Taiwan demonstrates a clear stance to the world that the friendship between Taiwan and Eswatini will not be shaken by Chinese pressure, and neither country will bow to hegemony.