Taipei: Several lawmakers from Germany and Italy have voiced concerns over China's alleged pressure on three African nations, which led to the revocation of overflight rights for Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te's flight. This revocation resulted in the cancellation of his scheduled visit to Eswatini, Taiwan's only diplomatic ally in Africa, this week. According to Focus Taiwan, the announcement to suspend the visit came on Tuesday, just a day before the planned trip. The Presidential Office cited "economic coercion" by China as the reason, with Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar revoking the overflight rights for Lai's chartered plane. These countries are positioned along the intended flight path. German parliamentarian Klaus-Peter Willsch, who chairs the parliamentary group responsible for aviation and aerospace matters in Germany, highlighted this incident on his Facebook page. He described the cancellation as "clear evidence of China's growing political pressure" in international air travel. Willsch a rgued that denying flight rights for geopolitical reasons is a direct violation of the Chicago Convention, which governs international airspace usage and air travel rights. Willsch asserted that using flight rights as a tool for political pressure threatens safety, stability, and trust in global aviation. He stressed that Taiwan, as a democratic nation and key player in international aviation, should be included in these discussions. In Italy, lawmakers like Alessandro Cattaneo and Fabrizio Benzoni took to social media to express their support for Taiwan. Cattaneo criticized the political pressure dictating flight permissions, stating it undermines diplomacy. Meanwhile, Benzoni labeled the revocation as a "worrying episode" that questions adherence to international rules and diplomatic freedom. Italian parliamentarian Isabella De Monte also condemned the action, regarding it as a coercive measure aimed at isolating Taiwan and preventing it from participating on the global stage. In response to the situati on, the German Institute Taipei and the Bureau Français de Taipei, which function as the de facto embassies of Germany and France in Taiwan, issued statements. They emphasized the importance of upholding safe, orderly, and predictable civil aviation operations, in line with the Chicago Convention, as a fundamental aspect of international civil aviation.
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