UPDATE - Taiwan urges China against ‘overreaction’ to Lai’s 1st overseas trip

UPDATES WITH STATEMENT BY CHINA, CHANGES DECK

ISTANBUL (AA) - Taiwan on Thursday urged China against “overreaction" when the regional leader William Lai Ching-te departs for his first overseas trip over the weekend.

“We call on Beijing not to use the long-standing practice (of Taiwanese leader traveling overseas) as a pretense to overreact, for example, by holding military exercises that risk destabilizing cross-strait relations,” Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung told lawmakers in Taipei.

He added the government “didn't rule out the possibility” that Beijing would launch drills in response to Lai's overseas visit.

Beginning Nov. 30, Lai will visit the island nation’s three Pacific allies, including the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau.

His trip, the first since he was inaugurated in May this year, will conclude on Dec. 6. and may include transit through the US territories of Hawaii and Guam. There has been no official confirmation, or denial, from either Washington or Taipei that this will happen.

Lin also maintained silence over the issue as China has warned the US against such transit.

Beijing has always responded "in some way" to overseas trips by previous Taiwanese leaders, he added.

Reacting to the upcoming trip by Lai and possible transit through US territories, Beijing called it "political manipulation" and "provocative actions which are bound to fail."

"We have always opposed official exchanges between the US and Taiwan island, opposed the Taiwan regional leaders attempting to conduct provocative visit to the US under any name, and opposed the US supporting 'Taiwan independence' separatists and their secessionist actions in any form," China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters in Beijing.

The tensions have persisted across the Taiwan Strait this year as Beijing deems Lai as a “dangerous separatist” while the Taiwanese leader has said China had “no right” to represent the island nation, home to around 24 million people.

China considers Taiwan as its “breakaway province” while Taipei has insisted on its independence since 1949.

Although the number of diplomatic allies of Taiwan has dwindled to 12 in the last decade, Taipei has seen its engagements with the US and its allies grow over the decade.

The outgoing Biden administration has approved at least 17 shipments of arms to Taiwan, including MGM-140 Army tactical missile systems (ATACMS).

It is the first time Taipei has received such an advanced missile defense system which has a range of 300 kilometers (186 miles).