TOKYO, Dec 3 (KUNA) -- Taiwan urged China on Tuesday not to overreact to President Lai Ching-te's trip abroad, saying transits through countries during presidential trips have been a longstanding practice.
According to the Presidential Office, Lai had a two-night layover in Hawaii over the weekend before heading to Taiwan's South Pacific allies, including the Marshall Islands, Taiwan News newspaper reported.
The Taiwanese leader met with state officials and delivered a speech at the US State Department-funded think tank East-West Center.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry protested the move, calling on the US to "cease all official interactions with Taiwan and stop sending erroneous signals to 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces." Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo stressed that ensuring peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region is a global consensus, cautioning that if China uses Lai's trip as a pretext to conduct military drills, it would be a blatant provocation against regional stability.
Kuo also expressed hope that Beijing will return to the rules-based international order and contribute to regional peace, the report said.
Taiwan is monitoring the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning as Beijing is expected to conduct military drills in response to Lai's trip, the report added.
China and Taiwan separated after a civil war in 1949, but Beijing regards the island as its territory. (end) mk.ahm