Taiwan President Lai Ching-te successfully broke through diplomatic obstacles to visit Eswatini on May 2, and concluded the trip by returning safely to Taiwan on Tuesday.
Both the outbound and return flights adopted an “Arrival then Announce” (ATA) model — the first time this approach has been used for a Taiwanese president visiting a diplomatic ally.
Some analysts view this as demonstrating Taiwan’s strategic resilience and logistical capability in responding to pressure from Beijing. However, others worry that this model could become the norm.
A successful ‘southern breakthrough’
Lai Ching-te had originally planned to visit Eswatini on April 22 to attend celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession to the throne and the king’s 58th birthday. However, the trip was postponed after Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar suddenly revoked flight permissions for the presidential aircraft.
Later, the situation took a favorable turn. Through coordinated efforts by Taiwan’s diplomatic and national security teams, Lai Ching-te successfully arrived in Eswatini on May 2 aboard King Mswati III’s royal aircraft (an A340-300).
Success
You are now signed up for our newsletter
Success
Check your email to complete sign up
According to an official press release, after concluding his visit, Lai Ching-te returned to Taiwan on May 5. Upon arriving at Taoyuan Airport, while talking to reporters Lai said, “The Earth is round – the world is shared by all. And Taiwan is part of that world. The people of Taiwan are people of the world, and they have every right to engage with the world. We will not back down in the face of pressure.”
Accompanying him back to Taiwan was Eswatini Deputy Prime Minister Thulisile Dladla.
According to a report by the Central News Agency, the return flight route appeared to face interference, prompting the aircraft to fly southward and push the A340 passenger jet to its “maximum flight range.” Flight data from Flightradar24 showed that the royal aircraft of the King of Eswatini (an A340-300), carrying Lai Ching-te, took off at around 6:40 p.m. on May 4 and headed southeast from Eswatini, avoiding the shorter northeastern route through the flight information regions of Seychelles, Madagascar, and Mauritius. Instead, it deliberately adopted a “southern breakthrough” strategy.
Reports indicated that because the Mauritius flight information region extends farther south, the aircraft flew south of the 45-degree south latitude line until passing the French Southern Territories. It then turned north into the Melbourne flight information region before continuing over Jakarta, Indonesia, and Philippine airspace back to Taiwan. The entire journey crossed deep into the southern Indian Ocean without landing for refueling, covering approximately 13,000 kilometers — close to the maximum fully loaded range of the A340 aircraft model.
Because the trip carried major diplomatic significance, the Eswatini royal aircraft briefly became one of the most-tracked flights worldwide on the Flightradar24 website, attracting the attention of more than 3,000 online followers.
This model becomes a tool for responding to CCP pressure
Su Tzu-yun, a scholar at Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense think tank, the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told CNA, the Taiwanese state news agency, that the King of Eswatini’s A340 aircraft was formerly operated by China Airlines, and Taiwan’s maintenance system is highly familiar with providing logistical support for it. He said it was possible that qualified pilots accompanied the trip as backup personnel to ensure safety.
He pointed out that this kind of “Arrival then Announce” (ATA) model already has international precedents because it can effectively reduce diplomatic risks. For example, former U.S. Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, as well as current President Donald Trump, have used similar methods when traveling to particularly sensitive regions or active war zones.
In addition, borrowing aircraft from allied nations for transportation also has precedents. After the outbreak of the Russia–Ukraine war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was reportedly transported multiple times on aircraft dispatched by other countries, and the U.S. military also sent transport aircraft to assist his travel from Ukraine to Washington, D.C.
Regarding some countries refusing to allow the aircraft into their airspace, Su Tzu-yun stated that airspace is part of a nation’s absolute sovereignty, so denying entry is understandable. However, he noted that the airspace beyond the 24-nautical-mile territorial baseline belongs to a Flight Information Region (FIR). Under international practice, military or government aircraft (such as Air Force One) theoretically enjoy greater flexibility when entering an FIR and do not necessarily need to provide prior notification.
Su argued that Lai Ching-te’s successful breakthrough visit to Eswatini — combined with comprehensive logistical support, the ATA (“Arrival then Announce”) model, assistance from an allied nation’s aircraft, and flexible use of FIR legal principles — could become an important tool for Taiwan in responding to pressure from the Chinese Communist Party and ensuring the smooth execution of future presidential diplomatic missions.
ATA model unlikely to become the norm
Although this ATA model set a precedent for Taiwanese presidents visiting allied nations, some scholars are concerned that it could become normalized.
Wang Hung-jen, executive director of the Taiwan Policy Research Institute, said Beijing’s current strategy is essentially: “Even if you are allowed to leave, it will be made troublesome and cumbersome”
He argued that such “abnormal” interference should not be allowed to become the new normal in diplomacy, because rerouted travel and repeated breakthrough operations increase the burden on diplomatic personnel and significantly raise the cost of Taiwan’s international participation.
According to BBC Chinese, Hung Pu-chao, deputy executive director of the Center for China and Regional Development Studies at Tunghai University, said that under high-pressure circumstances, Taiwan adopted the flexible and creative ATA model to ensure the mission could be completed.
He believes that cross-strait diplomatic competition has evolved beyond traditional struggles over recognition and participation into operational dimensions, including aviation and transit arrangements that were previously considered merely technical matters.
However, Hung said the ATA model cannot realistically become the norm because flight permits are a fundamental operating mechanism of the international civil aviation system and should not be politicized. If such practices became routine, they would undermine existing international norms and increase uncertainty for international aviation as a whole.
Taiwan should demonstrate resilience and adaptability
Although Lai Ching-te’s diplomatic breakthrough was ultimately successful, opposition parties criticized the trip as being conducted “secretively.”
According to Storm Media, in response, Wang Hung-jen argued that “this view is outdated and fails to reflect current realities.” He explained that the procedures surrounding Lai’s overseas visit had been made unnecessarily “complicated” mainly because the Chinese Communist Party has been aggressively shrinking Taiwan’s room for international maneuvering. Under such circumstances, Taiwan must try every possible way to achieve diplomatic breakthroughs and should not have its efforts dismissed as “secretive.” Wang described Lai’s visit to Eswatini as “a very successful diplomatic breakthrough.”
Wang further pointed out that former President Ma Ying-jeou obtained a period of “diplomatic truce” largely because of heavy reliance on Beijing’s goodwill and concessions. However, he warned that overdependence on a single market can leave a country’s sovereignty and development space constrained by others.
“Whether President Lai Ching-te visits diplomatic allies or transits through friendly nations, he should receive normal and dignified treatment,” Wang said. “But in the face of the CCP’s increasing pressure, Taiwan must demonstrate resilience and adaptability in defending the normal right of its head of state to travel abroad.”
