Overview
- President Lai, who landed back in Taipei Tuesday, said Taiwanese people have the right to engage with the world.
- Taipei says Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar pulled overflight permits under Chinese pressure, which forced the April 22–26 plan to be canceled.
- To complete the visit to Eswatini, Taiwan’s only African ally, Lai used King Mswati III’s A340 and returned on a southern Indian Ocean route tracked over Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
- Taiwan released images of F-16s escorting the aircraft, the United States condemned what it called intimidation, and China denied coercion and ridiculed the trip.
- The fight over clearances highlighted how airspace rules set for safety can be turned into political leverage that could shape future state travel and civil aviation norms.