TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China should not overreact to President Lai Ching-te’s (賴清德) trip abroad, Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said on Tuesday (Dec. 3).
Transits through countries during presidential trips have been a longstanding, bipartisan practice, Kuo said, per CNA. She assured the public that Taiwan's national security and defense authorities are keeping tabs on developments in the Taiwan Strait.
Lai had a two-night layover in Hawaii before heading to Taiwan’s South Pacific allies. He met with state officials and stopped at historic and cultural sites, including the Bishop Museum and the USS Arizona Memorial. He also delivered a speech at the US State Department-funded think tank East-West Center.
The Chinese foreign ministry protested the move, calling on the US to "cease all official interactions with Taiwan and stop sending erroneous signals to ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces.”
Kuo stressed that ensuring peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region is a global consensus. She cautioned that if China uses Lai’s trip as a pretext to conduct military drills, it would be a blatant provocation against regional stability.
The spokesperson hoped Beijing would return to the rules-based international order and contribute to regional peace.
Taiwan is monitoring the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning as Beijing is expected to conduct military drills in response to Lai’s trip.