Guam welcomes Taiwanese president on ‘unofficial visit’
Tsai stops in US territory on return leg of trip to Pacific allies
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen arrived on the US Pacific island of Guam on Friday on her way back from visiting Taipei’s diplomatic allies in the Pacific, a trip that caused strong objections from Beijing, which claims the island as its own.
Beijing had complained to Washington and urged the United States not to allow Tsai to transit through its territory, which included two days in Hawaii at the start of her trip to Tuvalu, the Solomon Islands and the Marshall Islands.
The timing is particularly touchy as US President Donald Trump is in due in Beijing next week.
China regards self-ruled and democratic Taiwan as sovereign territory and regularly calls it the most sensitive and important issue between it and the US, strongly objecting to transit stops by Taiwanese presidents.
While the office of Guam governor Edward Calvo described it as a “private and unofficial visit”, Tsai was provided a police escort upon her arrival.
Members of Guam’s legislature were there at a welcome reception for Tsai hosted by Calvo, who spoke of “island nations that share a common vision of peace and prosperity”.