State visit not 'breakthrough' but 'basic right': Lai

Taipei, May 5 (CNA) Bilateral visits between heads of state are a "basic right" and should not be seen as "breakthroughs," President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said Tuesday upon returning from a delayed trip to Eswatini.

"Some media outlets described [the overcoming] of external [Chinese] interference as a breakthrough," the president said at Taoyuan International Airport. "But in fact, bilateral visits between heads of state, just like friends going out to meet one another, are only normal and the basic right of every country."

"This trip was faced with obstruction at one point, but it only showed the world Taiwan's resolve to engage with the world," he said.

Lai was originally scheduled to depart for landlocked Eswatini, Taiwan's only African diplomatic ally, on April 22, but canceled his trip the previous evening after Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar abruptly revoked overflight clearance for his chartered aircraft.

The foreign ministries of Seychelles and Madagascar said they rescinded overflight permission, citing the "one-China" policy.

The Presidential Office attributed the revocation of flight permits to Chinese "economic coercion" of the African states, while quietly working to relaunch the trip. Lai announced on the evening of May 2 that he had arrived in Eswatini.

Lai thanked Eswatini Deputy Prime Minister Thulisile Dladla, who escorted him on his return flight to Taiwan.

"Madam Deputy Prime Minister, you must be the best leading actress in 'Driving Miss Daisy' if it were set in the skies," Lai told Dladla, in reference to Jessica Tandy's performance in the 1989 Oscar-winning drama.

Lai said that during his visit, he witnessed comprehensive bilateral exchanges spanning energy security, agriculture, smart healthcare, women's empowerment, culture and education.

"These cooperation initiatives not only underscore the friendship between the two countries spanning more than half a century, but also highlight Taiwan's concrete actions with an international partner to bring about security, prosperity and development," he said.

"The Republic of China, Taiwan, has proven through its actions that national power is demonstrated not through subordinating others, but through bringing happiness to all," he added.

During his visit, Lai witnessed the signing of a customs mutual assistance agreement and signed a joint communiqué reaffirming a commitment to bilateral trade.

He also visited the Royal Science and Technology Park, where he heard briefings on a strategic oil reserve facility and the Taiwan Industrial Innovation Park (TIIP), which Lai said were the largest and most strategically significant cooperation projects since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1968.