The United States denounced on Wednesday a “campaign of intimidation” by China after several African countries decided to revoke their overflight permits for Taiwanese president Lai Ching-te, prompting the postponement of a visit to Eswatini.
Beijing strongly responded by calling the accusations “irresponsible” and urging Washington to stop encouraging Taiwanese “separatist” forces.
Taipei announced on Tuesday that Lai Ching-te’s scheduled visit to the last diplomatic ally of Taiwan in Africa this week would be postponed, after “the Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar (revoked) their overflight permits unexpectedly and without notice.”
China considers Taiwan as one of its provinces. It advocates for a peaceful solution but does not rule out using force to take control of the island.
The US State Department expressed concern over the issue in a statement. “These countries are acting at China’s request,” it accused, highlighting “a new example of Beijing’s intimidation campaign against Taiwan and its allies.”
The United States has “irresponsibly criticized China’s legitimate actions to safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun. He spoke during a press briefing about “baseless accusations” against some countries.
China urges the United States to “stop instrumentalizing the Taiwan issue to interfere in China’s internal affairs” and to “stop sending wrong signals to separatist forces advocating Taiwan’s independence,” he said.
Eswatini, formerly Swaziland, is one of the 12 countries in the world that still recognize the “Republic of China,” the official name for Taiwan. All others, as well as the UN, only recognize Beijing as the sole official representative of China.
US President Donald Trump is expected to visit China in mid-May.
