William Lai seeks US support on trip amid China tensions

While Taipei and Washington consider these stopovers as routine and not warranting “provocative” responses from China, Beijing has expressed displeasure, interpreting them as further indications of US backing for Taiwan, a territory it claims as its own.

China is expected to initiate military exercises near Taiwan in the upcoming week, coinciding with Vice President Lai’s trip.

In the days leading up to Lai’s departure, the Chinese military’s frequent maneuvers around Taiwan’s airspace and waters, which have been a recurring pattern over the past year, saw larger-scale activity.

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense reported that within the last 24 hours, 33 Chinese warplanes and six vessels were detected encircling the island.

This follows a trend of increased Chinese military activity in response to certain diplomatic developments, such as when China conducted a three-day military simulation of a blockade around Taiwan after President Tsai Ing-wen meets with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California.

The Chinese government holds a particular aversion to Vice President Lai, who has previously identified himself as a proponent of “practical work for Taiwan independence.” However, Lai has consistently maintained during the election campaign that he seeks to preserve the existing status quo.

Details about Lai’s itinerary in the United States remain undisclosed by both Taiwan and the United States, with both parties striving to downplay this aspect of the trip.

Vice President Lai is scheduled to return from Paraguay through San Francisco and is slated to arrive back in Taiwan on Friday, according to the official schedule released on Saturday, which omits references to the US segments of the trip.

The Paraguay visit holds significance in light of China’s ongoing attempts to sway Taiwan’s few remaining allies.

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Jeff Liu, dismissed the notion of vice presidential transits in the United States as nothing out of the ordinary, citing 11 previous instances of similar occurrences.