3 African Nations Revoke Presidential Plane Flight Permits; Presidential Office: China's Economic Coercion
President Lai Ching-te's visit to Eswatini has been postponed after three African nations unexpectedly revoked flight permits for his special plane. Taiwan's Presidential Office attributes this to strong pressure from China, including economic coercion.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 21, 2026 at 20:33
- 🔍 Collected: April 21, 2026 at 21:02 (28 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 21, 2026 at 21:12 (10 min after Collected)
Central News Agency
(Central News Agency reporters Yeh Su-ping, Lai Yu-chen, Taipei, 21st) President Lai Ching-te's scheduled visit to Eswatini on the 22nd has been postponed. The Presidential Office stated today that three countries—Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar—unexpectedly and without warning revoked flight permits for the special plane. The actual reason is strong pressure from the Chinese authorities, including economic coercion. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an said that the shadow of China's "Belt and Road" can be seen across the African continent, all leading to debt traps.
President Lai Ching-te was originally scheduled to visit Eswatini on the 22nd. On the eve of his departure, Pan Men-an held an emergency press conference at 6 PM today, pointing out that three countries, including Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar, unexpectedly and without warning revoked flight permits for the special plane, and the President's visit would be postponed.
National Security Council Secretary-General Wu Chao-hsieh stated that the national security team immediately initiated relevant responses and deployments, and also asked several friendly allied countries to assist in negotiations. After evaluation, especially prioritizing the safety of the head of state and flight safety, it was finally recommended to postpone this trip.
Wu Chao-hsieh stated that this visit was originally planned as a direct flight to avoid areas with higher risks of Middle East conflicts. Eswatini is located on the southeastern coast of Africa, and the flight information regions of Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar are precisely located on the critical air route to Eswatini.
Wu Chao-hsieh said that when planning the itinerary, the government had smoothly obtained flight permits from all countries in accordance with international practice and international norms. These three countries unexpectedly and without any reason revoked the flight permits recently, which is an extremely rare situation. It is understood that they were clearly under pressure from the Beijing authorities.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Wu Chih-chung stated, "We understand their special circumstances of high dependence on China," and also condemned China's interference in the internal affairs and sovereignty of other countries. He hoped that through this incident, the international community could more clearly see how China uses various brutal means to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries and forcibly change decisions within their sovereign scope. To counter China's barbaric practices, the international community must understand and take joint action to curb China.
Media asked whether China's announcement of zero tariffs for 53 African countries excluding Eswatini would put greater pressure on Eswatini.
Wu Chih-chung stated that for a long time, China has used empty promises to entice African countries into debt traps, exchanging seemingly preferential trade terms for political obedience. He was pleased that friendly nation Eswatini did not fall into such a trap. Taiwan and Eswatini improve the lives of the Eswatini people through substantive medical cooperation, technical assistance, and industrial investment.
He said that the Republic of China (Taiwan) will continue to deepen such substantive bilateral cooperation in the future, so that Eswatini feels that standing with Taiwan is truly the choice that aligns with its national interests.
Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an said that the shadow of China's "Belt and Road" can be seen across the African continent and in several island nations, all leading to debt traps.
In addition, national security officials stated that according to intelligence, China pressured Seychelles, Madagascar, and Mauritius, threatening to revoke their huge debt waivers, stop financing, and impose further economic sanctions as "economic coercion," demanding that the three countries revoke flight permits for the Taiwanese head of state's special plane to pass through their flight information regions. The three countries temporarily and unexpectedly canceled under high pressure.
National security officials said that in practice, according to international civil aviation regulations and conventions, unless there is clear malice or a safety threat, similar overflights of flight information regions (FIR) cannot be refused without cause, as this would severely impact flight safety, such as long-haul flights potentially encountering flight safety threats like no alternate landing fields. Such temporary revocation decisions are rare internationally.
National security officials stated that this kind of sovereign act of pressuring third countries through political and economic means to change flight permit decisions, used to suppress other countries' international interactions, involves interfering in the internal affairs of other countries and impacting universal principles like flight safety. China's brutal disregard for international rules and order is also unprecedented. (Editor: Yang Kai-hsiang) 1150421
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(Central News Agency reporters Yeh Su-ping, Lai Yu-chen, Taipei, 21st) President Lai Ching-te's scheduled visit to Eswatini on the 22nd has been postponed. The Presidential Office stated today that three countries—Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar—unexpectedly and without warning revoked flight permits for the special plane. The actual reason is strong pressure from the Chinese authorities, including economic coercion. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an said that the shadow of China's "Belt and Road" can be seen across the African continent, all leading to debt traps.
President Lai Ching-te was originally scheduled to visit Eswatini on the 22nd. On the eve of his departure, Pan Men-an held an emergency press conference at 6 PM today, pointing out that three countries, including Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar, unexpectedly and without warning revoked flight permits for the special plane, and the President's visit would be postponed.
National Security Council Secretary-General Wu Chao-hsieh stated that the national security team immediately initiated relevant responses and deployments, and also asked several friendly allied countries to assist in negotiations. After evaluation, especially prioritizing the safety of the head of state and flight safety, it was finally recommended to postpone this trip.
Wu Chao-hsieh stated that this visit was originally planned as a direct flight to avoid areas with higher risks of Middle East conflicts. Eswatini is located on the southeastern coast of Africa, and the flight information regions of Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar are precisely located on the critical air route to Eswatini.
Wu Chao-hsieh said that when planning the itinerary, the government had smoothly obtained flight permits from all countries in accordance with international practice and international norms. These three countries unexpectedly and without any reason revoked the flight permits recently, which is an extremely rare situation. It is understood that they were clearly under pressure from the Beijing authorities.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Wu Chih-chung stated, "We understand their special circumstances of high dependence on China," and also condemned China's interference in the internal affairs and sovereignty of other countries. He hoped that through this incident, the international community could more clearly see how China uses various brutal means to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries and forcibly change decisions within their sovereign scope. To counter China's barbaric practices, the international community must understand and take joint action to curb China.
Media asked whether China's announcement of zero tariffs for 53 African countries excluding Eswatini would put greater pressure on Eswatini.
Wu Chih-chung stated that for a long time, China has used empty promises to entice African countries into debt traps, exchanging seemingly preferential trade terms for political obedience. He was pleased that friendly nation Eswatini did not fall into such a trap. Taiwan and Eswatini improve the lives of the Eswatini people through substantive medical cooperation, technical assistance, and industrial investment.
He said that the Republic of China (Taiwan) will continue to deepen such substantive bilateral cooperation in the future, so that Eswatini feels that standing with Taiwan is truly the choice that aligns with its national interests.
Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an said that the shadow of China's "Belt and Road" can be seen across the African continent and in several island nations, all leading to debt traps.
In addition, national security officials stated that according to intelligence, China pressured Seychelles, Madagascar, and Mauritius, threatening to revoke their huge debt waivers, stop financing, and impose further economic sanctions as "economic coercion," demanding that the three countries revoke flight permits for the Taiwanese head of state's special plane to pass through their flight information regions. The three countries temporarily and unexpectedly canceled under high pressure.
National security officials said that in practice, according to international civil aviation regulations and conventions, unless there is clear malice or a safety threat, similar overflights of flight information regions (FIR) cannot be refused without cause, as this would severely impact flight safety, such as long-haul flights potentially encountering flight safety threats like no alternate landing fields. Such temporary revocation decisions are rare internationally.
National security officials stated that this kind of sovereign act of pressuring third countries through political and economic means to change flight permit decisions, used to suppress other countries' international interactions, involves interfering in the internal affairs of other countries and impacting universal principles like flight safety. China's brutal disregard for international rules and order is also unprecedented. (Editor: Yang Kai-hsiang) 1150421
Choose to stand with the facts. Every sponsorship you provide is a force to protect press freedom.
Download the Central News Agency's "First-hand News" APP to stay updated with the latest news.
Text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and used without authorization.