Taiwan minister defies China in Eswatini after flight blockages

Taiwan’s foreign minister, Lin Chia-lung, landed in Eswatini on Saturday and delivered a defiant message after three African states revoked overflight permissions for President Lai Ching-te’s planned trip. The visit put Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in Africa at the center of a widening dispute with China over airspace, recognition and access.

Eswatini welcomed Lin at King Mswati III International Airport, where he was received by Foreign Minister Pholile Shakantu and Commerce Minister Manqoba Khumalo. Taiwan’s Presidential Office had appointed Lin as Lai’s special envoy after the president’s trip was suspended, underscoring how much Taipei placed on the visit to one of its 12 remaining formal diplomatic partners.

The trip had been planned around the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession to the throne and the monarch’s 58th birthday. Taiwan originally announced on April 13 that Lai would lead a delegation to Eswatini from April 22 to 26 and return on April 27. Officials said Lai had wanted to fly direct to Eswatini to avoid conflict-prone Middle East airspace, making the blocked route both politically sensitive and a practical safety choice.

Taiwan said Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar revoked permits for the presidential aircraft. Madagascar’s foreign ministry said its decision respected Madagascar’s sovereignty over its airspace and its recognition of only one China. The United States State Department accused China of acting through an “intimidation campaign” and said the countries were acting at China’s behest. Beijing denied coercion and said it highly appreciated the African countries that blocked the permits.

Taiwan said the cancellation marked the first time a Taiwan president had called off an entire foreign trip because airspace access was denied. For Taipei, the episode was more than a travel disruption. It exposed how overflight permissions have become a tool in the struggle over Taiwan’s international space, especially as Beijing presses other governments to narrow the island’s room to maneuver.

The last visit by a Taiwanese president to Eswatini came in 2023, when Tsai Ing-wen traveled there. King Mswati III attended Lai’s inauguration ceremony in 2024, a reminder of the close ceremonial ties that remain between the two governments. Lai’s aborted journey would have been his second overseas trip since taking office in May 2024, and its collapse signaled how fragile even Taiwan’s oldest diplomatic relationships have become under sustained pressure.