TAIPEI: Taiwan said on Tuesday (Apr 21) it had cancelled President Lai Ching-te's trip to Eswatini this week, accusing China of pressing three other African countries to revoke permission for his aircraft to overfly their territories.

The small southern African nation of Eswatini is one of only 12 countries to retain formal ties with Chinese-claimed Taiwan. Lai was due to leave on Wednesday for the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III's accession.

Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Meng-an said the Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar unilaterally revoked flight permits for the presidential aircraft without prior warning.

"The actual reason was intense pressure exerted by Chinese authorities, including economic coercion," he added.

China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A Madagascar foreign ministry official told Reuters the overflight request had been denied.

"Malagasy diplomacy recognises only one China. The decision was made in full respect of Madagascar's sovereignty over its airspace," the official said.

The Seychelles government declined to comment and Mauritius did not immediately respond to requests for a response.

Taiwan's presidents normally overfly countries with which the island does not have formal relations without problems, but China has a special dislike of Lai, whom it calls a "separatist".

Lai says only Taiwan's people can decide their future and that the island has a right to engage with the rest of the world without Beijing's interference.

Pan said China's actions were "unprecedented" in its "coercing a third country to alter its sovereign decision through intimidation".

This not only jeopardises flight safety and violates international norms but also offends the feelings of Taiwan's people, and the government condemns China's actions, he added.

Lai had planned to fly direct to Eswatini so as to "avoid those areas in the Middle East where the risks from ongoing conflict are relatively high", National Security Council chief Joseph Wu told reporters.

King Mswati visited Taiwan to attend Lai's inauguration ceremony in 2024.

The last visit by a Taiwanese president to Eswatini was in 2023, when former president Tsai Ing-wen travelled to the landlocked country of around 1.3 million people.