'Many precedents' for Lai's surprise visit to Eswatini: MOFA

Taipei, May 3 (CNA) The decision to announce President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) visit to Eswatini only after he arrived in the country is not uncommon in international diplomacy, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Saturday.

Announcing a head of state's visit to a country only after their arrival, out of consideration for both safety and diplomatic interactions, is a "practice with many international precedents," MOFA said in a press release.

Lai's trip to Eswatini was conducted entirely in accordance with international and Taiwanese law, and with diplomatic practices and norms, the ministry said.

Lai announced in a social media post Saturday that he had arrived in Eswatini, Taiwan's only African ally, after an earlier visit scheduled for April 22 had to be canceled due to reported interference by China.

Taiwanese officials said at the time that three countries along the flight path of Lai's chartered plane -- Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar -- had rescinded overflight permission following diplomatic pressure and "economic coercion" from China.

Taiwan's government called the airspace denials "unprecedented," while some experts warned it could signal a new approach by Beijing to limit Taiwan's international engagement.

Taiwan's government typically announces such trips before the president's departure.

As of Sunday morning, neither the Presidential Office nor MOFA had provided details on how Lai traveled to Eswatini, though Reuters noted that a photo Lai shared on social media appeared to show an Eswatini government jet that days earlier brought Deputy Prime Minister Thulisile Dladla to Taipei.

It's also currently unclear how long Lai will remain in Eswatini, or how he will return to Taiwan.

Reaction

Following Lai's announcement, Yin Nai-ching (尹乃菁), director of the opposition Kuomintang's (KMT) Culture and Communications Committee, said the party wished Lai success in strengthening ties with the Republic of China's (ROC, Taiwan) sole African ally.

At the same time, the Lai administration should learn a lesson from the cancellation of the earlier trip "due to a serious misjudgment of the international situation," and ensure that such a mistake does not happen again, lest it "damage the national dignity and prestige" of the ROC, Yin said.

China's Foreign Ministry said Lai had "smuggle[d]" himself out of the island on a "foreign plane," while warning that efforts to "collude with external forces will always be a losing cause" and will not "change the fact that Taiwan is part of China."

"We urge Eswatini and some other individual countries to see where the arc of history bends and stop serving as the prop of 'Taiwan independence' separatists," a ministry spokesperson said.

Hitting back, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said "the president of the Republic of China (ROC) does not need permission from the People's Republic of China (PRC) to travel anywhere."

The visit to Africa is Lai's second overseas trip since he assumed office in May 2024. He previously toured diplomatic allies in the Pacific in late 2024, visiting the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau, with transit stops in the U.S. state of Hawaii and the U.S. territory of Guam.