Mbabane, Eswatini. The United States backed Taiwan President Lai Ching-te’s visit to Eswatini, describing Taiwan as a “trusted and capable partner,” as China condemned the trip in unusually sharp terms.
Lai arrived in the kingdom on Saturday aboard an Eswatini government aircraft after China pressured three Indian Ocean states into denying overflight permission for his plane, prompting the cancellation of an earlier visit planned for April.
US support and travel arrangements
A US State Department spokesperson said Taiwan’s relationships “provide significant benefits to the citizens of those countries, including Eswatini,” and added that such travel was “routine and should not be politicised.”
Eswatini’s diplomatic ties with Taiwan
Eswatini, a landlocked kingdom of around 1.3 million people, is one of only 12 countries worldwide that maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan and the only one on a continent where China holds deep economic influence.
King Mswati III’s remarks and Taiwan’s UN exclusion
At a banquet held in Lai’s honour on Sunday, King Mswati III defended Taiwan’s international standing, saying that under the spirit of the United Nations, “23 million people of Taiwan still feel that they are left behind,” according to footage released by Lai’s office.
Taiwan is excluded from the United Nations due to Chinese objections.
China’s response and wider US-China tensions
Beijing, which regards democratically governed Taiwan as part of its territory with no right to conduct state-to-state relations, condemned Lai’s trip and said he was “like a rat scurrying across the street.”
The visit comes at a sensitive moment in Sino-American relations. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday that Taiwan was “the biggest point of risk” for relations between the two powers, ahead of a summit between Chinese and American leaders scheduled later this month in Beijing.
Background on previous visits and Lai’s position
Lai’s predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen, made similar trips to Eswatini in 2018 and 2023. Lai has said only Taiwan’s people can determine their future and that the island has the right to engage with the international community.
What do you think the visit will mean for Taiwan’s remaining diplomatic relationships?
