Taiwan鈥檚 Vice President William Lai speaks during a welcome dinner in Asuncion, Paraguay, in this handout picture released on August 15, 2023. Taiwan Presidential Office/Handout via REUTERS
TAIPEI 鈥� Any Chinese military action in response to stopovers in the U.S. by Taiwan Vice President William Lai would be an attempt by China to interfere in the island鈥檚 elections, Lai said during a trip to Paraguay.
Taiwanese officials say China could launch military drills this week, using Lai鈥檚 stopovers in the United States as a pretext to intimidate voters ahead of an election next year and make them 鈥渇ear war鈥�.
China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, has an particular dislike of Lai who has in the past described himself as a 鈥減ractical worker for Taiwan independence鈥�. He is the front-runner to become the next president in January鈥檚 election.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday in Paraguay, where he arrived via New York, Lai said such U.S. transits were routine and China had no cause to use them as an excuse to 鈥渧erbally and militarily intimidate Taiwan鈥�, the island鈥檚 official Central 黑料社 Agency reported.
鈥淚f China uses the transits as an excuse to again launch verbal and military intimidation or other threatening methods, it just confirms international media reports that China is attempting to intervene in Taiwan鈥檚 election with military threats,鈥� the news agency cited Lai as saying.
Lai, however, said he had confidence in Taiwan鈥檚 people.
Taiwan鈥檚 defense ministry said on Tuesday it had yet to see any large-scale Chinese maneuvers near the island.
In April, China held war games around Taiwan after President Tsai Ing-wen returned from California where she met U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on her way back from Central America.
China has denounced Lai鈥檚 New York stop 鈥� he is due in San Francisco on Wednesday on his way back to Taipei 鈥� and said he is a separatist 鈥渢roublemaker鈥�.
Both Taiwan and the United States have sought to keep Lai鈥檚 U.S. stopovers low key, and Lai said there were 鈥渘o special arrangements鈥� to meet with U.S. officials.
China considers Taiwan to be its most sensitive and important political and diplomatic issue, and it is a constant source of Sino-U.S. friction.
Speaking at a conference in Moscow on Tuesday, Chinese Defene Minister Li Shangfu said 鈥減laying with fire on the Taiwan issue and vainly trying to 鈥榗ontrol China with Taiwan鈥� is bound to end in failure鈥�.
Lai has been in Paraguay for the inauguration of its new president. It is one of only 13 countries to maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
Lai posted on his Facebook pages pictures of him in Asuncion shaking hands with and chatting to U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, as well as Spain鈥檚 King Felipe VI and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who were there for the same event.
China says Taiwan has no right to state-to-state ties and has been trying to pick off Taiwan鈥檚 remaining diplomatic allies. Honduras, once a stalwart friend of Taipei鈥檚, switched ties to Beijing in March.