Overview
- Lai arrived back in Taiwan on Tuesday and said state visits are a basic right after a three-day stop in Eswatini.
- Taipei says Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar revoked overflight permits in April under Chinese pressure, which forced a postponement of the original trip.
- To avoid fresh interference, Lai flew on King Mswati III’s private A340 and kept the plan quiet, with trackers later showing a long loop over the Indian Ocean.
- The United States called China’s actions an intimidation campaign, and China labeled the visit a “stowaway-style” farce.
- Overflight permissions are usually a safety formality under global aviation rules, yet the dispute shows how they can be used to curb Taiwan’s ties, which now number 12.