A photo of US Department of State file photo: VCG

US State Department made unwarranted accusation and distorting remarks regarding the Taiwan question after Taiwan regional leader Lai Ching-te cancelled his "transit visit" to Eswatini due to the denial of a flight permit.

According to a Reuters report on Thursday that the US State Department claimed it was "concerned" that several African countries had revoked overflight clearances for Taiwan regional leader Lai Ching-te "at China's behest," and distorted relevant countries' decision as an abuse of the international civil aviation system. Chinese experts slammed the rhetorics, saying it once again laid bare Washington's attempt to interfere in the Taiwan question and its disrespect for the decisions of relevant African countries.

According to Reuters, a US state department spokesperson told the media that "These countries are acting at the behest of China by interfering in the safety and dignity of routine travel" by Taiwan local officials, without naming the African nations. The spokesperson claimed that it is "intimidation campaign" and "abuse" of the international civil aviation system, according to Reuters.

Taiwan regional leader Lai Ching-te "postponed" a "transit visit" to Eswatini, Taiwan region's sole remaining so-called "diplomatic ally" in Africa, originally scheduled for April 22 to 26, after Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar canceled flight permits, a Taiwan local official told journalists on Tuesday, according to multiple media reports.

Wang Yiwei, a professor at Renmin University of China's School of International Studies, told the Global Times on Thursday that the US state department's accusation was unreasonable and insulting to those sovereign states.

The expert said the countries involved are fully entitled to manage their own airspace and to decide whether to permit transit by a regional leader from a place that has no diplomatic ties with them and is not recognized by most countries in the world. Yet Washington has chosen to portray such sovereign decisions as part of an "intimidation campaign," revealing once again its habit of interfering in other countries' internal affairs and lecturing others.

Wang added that the US itself had acknowledged in the three China-US joint communiqués that there is but one China and that Taiwan is part of China, while maintaining no official relations with the island. Against that backdrop, Washington's repeated manipulation of the Taiwan question and criticism of other countries' lawful decisions amount to a breach of its own commitments, he said.

The US State Department's claims were another round of US hype over Taiwan question, Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Abiding the one-China principle is an international consensus, but Washington has long attempted to use the Taiwan question as a geopolitical tool to contain China, even at the expense of the basic principles of international relations and the spirit of the UN Charter, Li said.

Reuters noted that the US does not have formal ties with Taiwan but is its biggest international backer and arms supplier.

According to Reuters, a European Union spokesperson and a representative at the British Office Taipei also expressed similar so-called "concern," with the EU spokesperson claiming that "While states exercise sovereignty over their airspace…. such decisions should not be taken to achieve political objectives."

Li noted that such comments from the EU and the UK reflect their lack of independence in handling Taiwan question, and a tendency to blindly follow Washington while disregarding the spirit of international rules. He said both EU and Britain have themselves suffered in recent international affairs from US disregard for their sovereignty and security, yet continue to bind themselves to Washington in China-related matters and fuel geopolitical rivalry worldwide.

He added that the EU and UK's unfounded speculation that African countries acted for political motives also suggests a lingering colonial mindset — one that assumes African nations are incapable of independently managing their own airspace and places Europe above them in judgment.

China's Foreign Ministry and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council on Wednesday both commended relevant countries for upholding the one-China principle after they refused to grant flight clearance for Taiwan regional leader Lai's so-called "transit visit" to Eswatini.

In a statement released on Wednesday, a spokesperson from the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that "all African countries, with the sole exception of Eswatini, have established diplomatic ties with China."

China highly commends relevant countries' commitment to the one-China principle which is fully consistent with international law and basic norms governing international relations, said the spokesperson.

Also on Wednesday, when asked to comment on the news, Zhang Han, spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said that "we appreciate the position and actions of the relevant countries in upholding the one-China principle."

A just cause enjoys abundant support, while an unjust one finds little. The facts once again prove that the one-China principle is a basic norm governing international relations and a prevailing consensus of the international community. It represents the general trend of the times, the greater good, and the will of the people, Zhang said.