Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen is setting off for the US and three South Pacific nations in an effort to crack the diplomatic isolation imposed by rival China.
Tsai will visit the Marshall and Solomon Islands along with Tuvalu starting from tomorrow. The three are among the just 20 countries that extend Taiwan formal diplomatic recognition. Like most Taiwanese allies, they are developing countries that look to Taiwan for economic support.
Tsai's travels follow Panama's switching of diplomatic relations to Beijing in June in what was seen as a major diplomatic setback for Taiwan.
China claims sovereignty over democratic, self-ruled Taiwan, which split from the mainland amid civil war in 1949, and uses diplomatic and economic pressure to restrict the island's international relations.
Washington does not formally recognise Taiwan but maintains close economic, diplomatic and military ties with the island.
While it officially advocates "peaceful unification," China has never renounced its threat to use force to gain control over Taiwan.
Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed October 18, the first day of a ruling Communist Party congress, that China would not allow anyone to "separate any part of Chinese territory from China," a likely reference to Taiwan.
Tsai's top China policymaker told a forum in Taipei yesterday that the two sides needed a "new chapter" in relations and a "new method of interaction."
"We know that Xi Jinping is an extremely ambitious leader and he doesn't want to get to 2020 with his Taiwan scorecard a blank," said Lin Chong-pin, a retired strategic professor from Tamkang University in Taiwan.
He added: "I don't think Tsai Ing-wen will cross the red line" during her travels, referring to actions and statements that emphasise Taiwan's formal and legal independence from China.
Beijing resents the Tsai government because her Democratic Progressive Party advocates Taiwan's formal independence, although Tsai has played down that aim and called for continued dialogue with China.
Beijing cut off exchanges between the two governments last year after Tsai made clear she would not endorse China's view that Taiwan is a part of China.
In the Marshalls and Solomons, Tsai will find an "opportunity to better understand the sustainable development needs of the two countries and determine how (Taiwan) can assist in line with steadfast diplomacy," the government said in a statement posted on its official website.
Tsai's entourage has also prepared gifts made by Taiwan aboriginal artisans to play up their ethnic Austronesian links in the South Pacific, the presidential office said.
Tsai's travels include transit stops in Hawaii and Guam.
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