A new episode of international tension brought the dispute between China and Taiwan back to center stage, after the Taiwanese government denounced pressure from the Xi Jinping dictatorship to prevent an official trip by its president, Lai Ching-te.
The conflict broke out when several African countries, including Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar, denied overflight permits to the Taiwanese presidential plane, forcing the suspension of a tour that included a visit to Eswatini, one of the few diplomatic allies that still maintains relations with Taiwan.
From Taipei, the authorities pointed out that the decision was not accidental, but the result of a strategy of pressure exerted by China to limit the island's international projection. According to the Taiwanese government, such maneuvers are part of a sustained policy of
diplomatic isolation.Beijing, for its part, rejected the accusations and defended the measure on the principle of “one China”, which maintains that Taiwan is part of its territory. Within this framework, China often pressures other countries not to maintain official ties with the Taiwanese government
.The episode reflects a growing trend: the use of economic and diplomatic tools to influence the decisions of third countries. Taiwan denounced that China uses financial incentives and trade agreements to get different states to break or limit their relations with the
