Taiwan President Lai Ching-te sought to bolster support for the island and its democratic government on a tour of Blue Pacific nations.
Lai visited the Marshall Islands, Palau and Tuvalu and also made stops in Hawaii and Guam, a United States territory, on the weeklong trip that began November 30, 2024.
A dozen nations, including the Marshall Islands, Palau and Tuvalu, maintain official ties with Taiwan. Although the U.S. does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, it maintains a robust unofficial relationship.
“Taiwan must actively engage with the world,” Lai said before departing from Taipei on his first trip abroad since assuming the presidency in May 2024, according to The New York Times newspaper. He said the Marshall Islands, Palau and Tuvalu have been “supporting Taiwan’s participation in many international forums.”
Taiwan seeks to strengthen its relations in the face of mounting pressure from Beijing, which threatens to annex the self-governed island and has attempted to coerce other nations to end their ties with Taiwan.
“The advantage that Taiwan gets from showing goodwill to these diplomatic partners is that naturally they help us speak out internationally, in all kinds of international settings where Taiwan can’t do it,” Ian Tsung-yen Chen, a professor specializing in Asia-Pacific relations at Taiwan’s National Sun Yat-sen University, told The New York Times.
In Hawaii, Lai highlighted Taiwan’s partnership with the U.S. as a source of strength for the high-tech industry, including the semiconductor sector. The relationship demonstrates the island is a trusted and reliable partner, Lai said during a meeting at the East-West Center, a think tank funded by the U.S. State Department, Reuters reported.
“Taiwan also actively cooperates with like-minded nations, fully demonstrating how we leverage our expertise to contribute to global development,” Lai said, according to his office.
Suzanne Puanani Vares-Lum, president of the East-West Center, said the institution is an ideal spot for Lai to visit because it promotes relations among the U.S. and Indo-Pacific partners, according to The Associated Press (AP).
She said it’s common for regional leaders to stop in Hawaii because of the state’s location. Lai also met with Hawaii Gov. Josh Green at the state’s emergency management agency, AP reported.
“Together, we extended a warm aloha to Lai and his delegation, highlighting Hawai’i’s shared values of resilience and collaboration with Taiwan,” Green said in an Instagram post.
Lai also visited Guam, which, like Hawaii, hosts key U.S. military bases. The 1979 Taiwan Relations Act is the foundation for the Taiwan-U.S. relationship and provides for the U.S. to assist Taiwan in maintaining its defensive capabilities.
“The cooperation between Taiwan and the U.S. in recent years has demonstrated Taiwan’s commitment to its own security, as well as the common commitment of Taiwan and the U.S. to peace in the Indo-Pacific region,” Lai said.
