Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te arrived in Hawaii Saturday to begin his first trip overseas since his inauguration, and is expected to spend two nights at the Kahala Hotel before continuing on to visit the three Pacific island nations with which his country still has direct diplomatic ties.
Upon arrival at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, he was greeted on the tarmac by Gov. Josh Green, Mayor Rick Blangiardi, Honolulu Police Chief Arthur “Joe” Logan and Ingrid Larson, the D.C. office managing director of the American Institute in Taiwan, the organization that serves as the unofficial U.S. embassy in Taiwan.
Green in a statement called the meeting “a momentous occasion,” highlighting Hawaii’s “shared values of resilience and collaboration with Taiwan.”
After checking into the hotel, Lai visited the Bishop Museum and met with Green at the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency to discuss disaster response.
“This exchange underscored our mutual dedication to building stronger, more resilient systems to protect lives in the face of natural disasters,” Green said. “Taiwan’s commitment to learning from Hawai‘i’s emergency operations framework reflects the global importance of collaboration in addressing shared challenges.”
A Taiwanese official said Lai also visited the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor before returning to Kahala for a banquet with local elected officials and prominent members of the Taiwanese community in Hawaii.
In an address to banquet attendees, Lai reflected on visiting the memorial.
“Peace is priceless, and war has no winner,” he said. “We have to fight, fight together to prevent war.”
The Chinese military has stepped up operations around Taiwan since Lai’s election. China regards the self-ruled island democracy as a rogue province, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping has vowed to bring it under control — by force if necessary.
During the banquet, Hawaii officials thanked Lai for his country’s $500,000 donation to Maui wildfire relief in the days after the Aug. 8, 2023, disaster that killed 102 people and displaced thousands.
“Taiwan, our friends, were among the first not just to offer condolences and resources for support but to embrace all of our Maui ohana in each and every way possible,” said U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda. “At the same time you were doing this, China spread disinformation about the fires online to undermine our government and exploit our people’s fear and pain in their darkest moments. Taiwan on the other hand was there for us.”
The American relationship with Taiwan has been an ongoing sore spot for relations between the U.S. and China.
After the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949 with the defeat of nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek, he and his supporters fled across the Taiwan Strait to set up a government-in-exile and imposed repressive martial law over the island. In 1987, martial law was lifted, and since then the island has democratized, developed a high-tech economy and become a key trade partner for the United States.
Officially, the U.S. has not diplomatically recognized Taiwan since normalizing relations with the People’s Republic of China in 1979. But the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 maintained de facto ties and requires the U.S. to provide Taiwan with weapons “of a defensive nature” and “resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of the people on Taiwan.”
Hawaii plays a central role in the relationship.
The islands have served as key transit points in arms transfers, with F-16 fighters stopping at the Honolulu airport on their way to Taiwan. In 2022, a Taiwanese F-16 fighter jet made international headlines when its landing gear failed as it landed and temporarily shut down the runway.
But perhaps more importantly, Oahu is home to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, the nerve center for all U.S. military operations in the region.
The Taiwanese government has maintained a detachment of military officers at the Taipei Economic &Cultural Office in Honolulu, Taipei’s de facto consulate in the islands, who hold regular meetings with American officials and military attaches from other countries.
Recent iterations of Congress’ annual National Defense Appropriations Act have included calls for increased cooperation, including inviting Taiwanese forces to participate in the biennial Rim of the Pacific naval war games held around Hawaii.
Tokuda has visited Taiwan twice as a member of a bipartisan congressional delegations, most recently in August.
“Let there be no ambiguity,” Tokuda said at Saturday’s banquet in Kahala. “The United States must continue to stand by Taiwan, promote peace and stability and ensure that Taiwan’s future is decided only by its people.”
The administration of outgoing President Joe Biden has voiced strong support for Taiwan and sought to bolster relations, but has also been working to ease tensions with China and reopen dialogues.
In September, Gen. Wu Yanan, the Chinese military commander responsible for operations in the South China Sea, attended a meeting in Hawaii of top military leaders from across the region and met with Adm. Samuel Paparo, commander of all U.S. forces in the Pacific.
Leaders across the world are still working out what the reelection of former President Donald Trump will mean for them, especially in Asia and the Pacific.
Trump has been skeptical of the value of alliances, but has also been nominating several appointees to his incoming administration who have been sympathetic toward Taiwan. During his first presidency Trump was known for his confrontational approach to relations with China and has promised to impose new tariffs on Chinese goods when he returns to office
Last month, U.S. officials announced a potential $2 billion arms sale package to Taiwan, including the delivery for the first time to the island of an advanced air defense missile system that has seen effective use on battlefields in Ukraine. Just before Lai’s departure from Taiwan for Hawaii, the U.S. announced a $385 million arms sale package for Taiwan of spare parts for F-16 jets and radars.
Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, told reporters in Beijing on Friday that if the U.S. wants to maintain peace it should “handle the Taiwan issue with utmost caution, unequivocally oppose independence of Taiwan, and support the peaceful reunification of China.”
After leaving Hawaii, Lai is scheduled to visit the the Pacific nations of the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau. They are three of the 12 countries that still maintain direct diplomatic recognition of Taiwan. China does not have diplomatic relations with any country that officially recognizes Taiwanese independence and has been investing heavily in countries that agree to sever ties.
In 2019, two Pacific island countries — Kiribati and the Solomon Islands — cut ties with Taiwan and opened Chinese embassies. Just after Lai won the Taiwanese election in January, Beijing announced that Nauru had agreed to sever its ties with Taipei to align with China.
But despite many Pacific countries officially cutting diplomatic ties with Taiwan, several still maintain robust trade relations, and Taiwan still maintains a presence at the Pacific Islands Forum, the region’s main diplomatic gathering, as a “development partner.” China, which also participates in the forum, has called for the expulsion of Taiwanese officials.
Lai is also due to stop in Guam, which is home to some of the U.S. forces closest to Taiwan and would likely become a front line if the U.S. were to intervene to stop a Chinese invasion.
