The United States and Taiwan are raising alarm over China’s capacity to disrupt international diplomacy after Beijing-aligned client states decided to keep Taiwan’s president out of Africa.
President William Lai was blocked from travelling to Eswatini this week after China allegedly pressured three African nations — Mauritius, Madagascar, and Seychelles — to deny airspace access to the president’s plane.
The island territory claimed it had previously been approved for travel by the concerned governments and that clearance had been suddenly revoked just days before the trip was set to take place.
Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is one of the few nations in the world that recognizes Taiwanese sovereignty, and Lai intended to participate in a joint jubilee and birthday celebration for King Mswati III.
A Taiwanese official familiar with the situation told the Washington Examiner that the forced postponement has caused severe concern that “growing pressure from China in Africa” could
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