UPDATED at 6:14 a.m. ET on Nov. 28, 2024.
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te will visit Hawaii and the U.S. territory of Guam on a trip to the Pacific that will include stops in three diplomatic allies, media reported, after the government called on China not to “overreact” to his travels.
China views Taiwan as its territory and it objects to any country or organization treating it as a state. In particular, China gets infuriated by visits by Taiwan leaders to the United States, and by visits by U.S. officials to Taiwan.
Lai sets off on Saturday for visits to the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau, his first overseas trip since taking office on May 20. He would also visit Hawaii and Guam, Taiwan’s Central News Agency, or CNA, reported on Thursday.
“The president will stay in Hawaii for two nights before visiting the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu, then transit through Guam before heading to Palau,” CNA cited an unidentified government source as saying.
“During the layovers in the U.S., Lai plans to hold closed-door discussions with think tanks and meet with local Taiwanese communities,” it said.
A spokesperson for China’s defence ministry said China objected to the trip, the AFP news agency reported.
“We firmly oppose official interaction with China’s Taiwan region in any form,” the spokesperson, Wu Qian, told a press conference.
“The Chinese (military) shoulders the sacred mission of safeguarding national sovereignty... and will resolutely crush all secessionist attempts for Taiwan independence,” Wu said.
Taiwan’s foreign minister, Lin Chia-lung, speaking before the president’s office announced the Hawaii and Guam stops on the trip, called on China not to use the Pacific trip as an excuse to stage military exercises.
“We call on Beijing not to use the long-standing practice [of Taiwan’s presidents traveling overseas] as a pretense to overreact, for example, by holding military exercises that risk destabilizing cross-strait relations,” said CNA in a separate report, citing Lin.
Reuters news agency on Wednesday reported that China would likely launch military drills near the island, using Lai’s to the Pacific and the expected U.S. transit stop as a pretext, citing regional security officials.
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China launched intensive military exercises around Taiwan in 2022 after then U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi became the highest-ranking U.S. official in 25 years to visit Taiwan.
China also froze top-level military talks and other dialogue with the U.S. in response to the Pelosi visit.
Chinese forces have held frequent drills in the air and seas around the island since then.
Beijing has over the years successfully swayed several of Taipei’s diplomatic allies to shift their recognition to China. As of Nov. 28, only 12 countries maintained official diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Edited by Taejun Kang.
Updated to include information about Lai’s plan to visit Hawaii and Guam as well as a statement from China’s defense ministry.