Taiwan has the right to engage with ​the world, and no country can stop that, ⁠President Lai Ching-te told Eswatini’s king after he arrived for a surprise trip that Taipei says Beijing tried to stop, as China condemned him as a “rat”.

China views ‌democratically governed Taiwan as part of its territory with no right to State-to-State ties, a position Taiwan’s government strongly ‌disputes, and Beijing has demanded countries stop any engagements with ‌the ⁠island.

Taiwan’s Opposition leader, a proponent of closer ties with Beijing, said on Wednesday (April 8, 2026) she hoped to sow the “seeds of peace” during a rare visit to China.

Kuomintang (KMT) chairwoman Cheng Li-wun is the party’s first leader to visit China in a decade, but her trip — during which she hopes to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping — has sparked debate in Taiwan.

The leader of Taiwan’s largest opposition party said Monday (March 23, 2026) she hoped to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and build a “bridge” to resolve disputes between China and the democratic island, which Beijing has threatened to seize by force.

Communist China has never ruled Taiwan, but Beijing insists the self-governed island of more than 23 million people is part of its territory, and uses military pressure to assert its sovereignty claim.

Kuomintang (KMT) chairwoman Cheng Li-wun, who has been a strident critic of President Lai Ching-te’s government since taking up her role in November, has insisted on meeting Xi before she makes an official trip to the United States.

While the KMT has long supported closer ties with Beijing, Ms. Cheng has been accused by Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of doing Beijing’s bidding by stalling the government’s defence spending plans.

There are concerns inside the KMT that a Cheng-Xi meeting could trigger a voter backlash in Taiwan’s district elections later this year.

But speaking to foreign media on Monday, Ms. Cheng said talks with Mr. Xi would carry “signficant symbolic meaning” and could be a “foundation” to peaceful relations across the Taiwan Strait.

“I do not believe a single meeting can resolve all the issues that have been accumulating for nearly a century,” Ms. Cheng said.

“But… I hope I can successfully build such a bridge.”

While Ms. Cheng has expressed confidence that a meeting with Mr. Xi will happen, there has been no confirmation from Beijing.

Ms. Cheng’s remarks came as Taiwan’s parliament began reviewing rival proposals for special defence spending that are aimed at boosting the island’s military capabilities against a potential Chinese attack.

Mr. Lai’s government has proposed NT$1.25 trillion ($39 billion) in spending on critical defence purchases, including US arms, while the KMT wants to allocate NT$380 billion for U.S. weapons with the option for more acquisitions.

While the KMT supported having stronger defences, Ms. Cheng said more military spending alone would not achieve peace with China.

“There must also be political efforts. Political efforts are… the key,” Ms. Cheng said.

China severed high-level communications with Taiwan in 2016 after Mr. Lai’s predecessor Tsai Ing-wen, who also belongs to the Democratic Progressive Party, took power.

Chinese leaders detest Lai, who Beijing calls a “separatist”.

Ms. Cheng said her push for closer relations with China did not come at the expense of the United States, which is Taiwan’s biggest arms provider.

Lawmakers in Washington have been critical of Taiwan’s opposition parties for blocking the government’s defence spending bill.

“The KMT has long had very good relations with the United States, and improving our relations with the mainland (China) will not affect that,” Ms. Cheng said.

“We do not need to choose one or the other.”

Taiwan’s Parliament on Friday (March 13, 2026) authorised the ‌government to sign U.S. agreements for four arms sales packages, ​after officials warned that Taipei would go to the back ⁠of the line if it missed the deadline. The back and forth on Taiwan’s defence spending has provoked concern in the United States, as it is the ‌most important international backer and arms supplier of the Chinese-claimed island, despite a lack of formal diplomatic ties.

President Lai Ching-te’s government ‌has tried to get parliament to pass $40 billion in extra defence ‌spending ⁠but the opposition, which controls the most seats, says the ⁠proposals are unclear, and it cannot be expected to pass “blank cheques” despite supporting defence.

Both opposition parties have come up with their own, less expensive proposals, but the defence ministry has said ​the letters of offer and acceptance ‌for the weapons with the United States have to be signed or Taiwan would lose its place in the production and delivery queue.

After lawmakers from both sides agreed on Thursday (March 12, 2026) that the government could still ‌sign the agreements in advance, even if the reviews of ​the spending proposals are not approved in time, parliament formally gave its legal authorisation.

The authorisation was passed unanimously and announced ⁠by parliament speaker Han Kuo-yu.

“This body upholds the principle of placing national security first and firmly defending territorial integrity,” Han said, reading out the wording of ‌the resolution.

Once the government signs the letters it should submit to parliament for revenue a “complete report on the delivery schedule for the relevant weapons”, he added.

The weapons to be signed for include TOW anti-tank missiles, M109A7 self-propelled howitzers, Lockheed Martin-made Javelin missiles and the HIMARS multiple launch rocket system.

Wang Ting-yu, a lawmaker for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party who sits ‌on parliament’s defence committee, welcomed the move.

“The advance authorisation to sign before the budget ​is reviewed is intended to ensure that Taiwan’s acquisition of these important systems is not delayed or cancelled,” he wrote on his ⁠Facebook page.

On Tuesday (March 10, 2026), Defence Minister Wellington Koo told reporters the letters of offer ⁠and acceptance for 82 HIMARS systems the U.S. announced as part of an $11-billion arms sale package for Taiwan would expire on March ‌26.

Sunday (March 15, 2026) is the deadline to sign for the other weapons systems, the Ministry says.

The Trump administration has pressed allies to increase defence spending, ​a plank Lai and his government have enthusiastically embraced. 

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is set ​for a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Tuesday (January 13, 2026), a week after ‌meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, as Seoul seeks to balance ties with ​both neighbours.

The summit in Japan’s Nara City comes amid a growing diplomatic dispute between Beijing and Tokyo, and analysts expect Ms. Takaichi to highlight the stability of three-way ties between the United States, Japan and South Korea.

Mr. Lee is seeking to balance ties with China and Japan, which could make it easier to reach pacts in business fields such as artificial intelligence (AI).

Mr. Lee said the conflict between China and Japan was not desirable for regional peace, but Seoul would not meddle in the ongoing row.

“It’s clear ​that Chinese President Xi Jinping has a very negative view of Japan’s position on the ⁠matter of Taiwan,” Mr. Lee said during an interview with Japanese broadcaster NHK. “I think it’s a matter between China and Japan, not something we should deeply involve ourselves in or interfere with.”

Beijing irked by Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan

Beijing was infuriated after Ms. Takaichi ​said in November that a Chinese attack on ⁠democratically governed Taiwan could be deemed an existential threat to Japan, which could trigger a military response from Tokyo.

China regards Taiwan as part of its territory, a claim the island’s government rejects.

In the face of the tension with China, Japan may seek to bolster diplomatic ties with South Korea, ‌possibly through a strategic partnership, said Lee Chang-min, a Japan expert at Hankuk University of ‌Foreign Studies.

“Not only has Japan’s relationship with China deteriorated, the United States has also put a little distance from Japan in its (Taiwan) stance,” said Mr. Lee.

South Korea’s Mr. Lee and ‍Ms. Takaichi may discuss the Japan-China dispute during their meeting, a security adviser to Mr. Lee, Wi Sung-lac said on Friday (January 9, 2026). However, South Korea is unlikely to take sides, analysts said.

North Korea issues

Perennial concerns, such as the ‍denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and the fate of Japanese nationals abducted by neighbouring North Korea are also expected to figure on the agenda.

However, analysts said the areas offering the easiest scope for concrete agreements may lie in business, such as cooperation in AI and chips, and easing travel for business executives between the countries.

The two leaders are expected to extensively discuss “areas directly related to people’s livelihoods … such as intellectual property and AI,” Mr. Wi said.

The summit in Ms. Takaichi’s home prefecture of Nara also offers Mr. Lee an opportunity to take up issues of regional cooperation, as part of a pledge to spur development in areas outside Seoul.

Ties ⁠are still plagued by longstanding tension on topics such as Japan’s colonisation of Korea, including the treatment of Korean women forced to work in its wartime military brothels.

Such ​historical issues have moved from the centre stage of relations for now, analysts said, though some in South ⁠Korea still want them to stay high on the agenda.

Mr. Lee said South Korea’s long-standing ban on seafood from Japan’s Fukushima region would be a key topic discussed at the summit, though resolving the issue in the short term would be challenging due to a lack of public trust in Korea.

Mr. Lee’s two-day visit to Japan, shorter than his four-day trip to China, is ⁠part of “shuttle diplomacy” efforts that the two countries agreed last year.

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te said on Wednesday (November 26, 2025) he will put forth a special $40 billion budget for arms purchases, including building a Taiwan Dome, an air defence system with high-level detection and interception capabilities, in the face of U.S. pressure for the island to increase its defence spending.

The budget will be allocated over eight years, from 2026 to 2033, and comes after Mr. Lai already pledged to raise defence spending to 5% of the island’s GDP.

Currently, Taiwan has budgeted an increase in its defence budget to 3.3% for 2026, allocating TWD 949.5 billion ($31.18 billion).

Mr. Lai had previewed the announcement in an op-ed for the Washington Post on Wednesday (November 26), saying the special budget would be used to purchase arms from the U.S.

Wellington Koo, Taiwan’s Minister of National Defence, said on Wednesday (November 26) that the $40 billion is an upper limit for the special budget and that it will be used to buy precision-strike missiles and for the joint development and procurement between Taiwan and the U.S. of equipment and systems. 

Taiwan is an internal matter for China, Beijing’s foreign ministry said on Monday, in response to U.S. President Donald Trump saying Chinese President Xi Jinping told him he will not invade the island while Trump is in office.

Mr. Trump made the comments in an interview with Fox News, ahead of talks in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Moscow’s war with Ukraine.

Asked about Mr. Trump’s remarks at a daily news briefing in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory.

“The Taiwan issue is purely an internal affair of China, and how to resolve the Taiwan issue is a matter for the Chinese people,” she said.

“We will do our utmost to strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification. But we will never allow anyone or any force to separate Taiwan from China in any way.”

China views Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to “reunify” with the democratic and separately governed island. Taiwan vehemently opposes China’s sovereignty claims.

On Sunday, in its response to what Mr. Trump had said, Taiwan’s foreign ministry said it “always closely monitors interactions between senior officials from the United States and China”.

Taiwan will continue to work with countries that have “significant interests” in the Indo-Pacific region to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, the ministry added.

The United States is Taiwan’s most important international backer and arms supplier, despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties.

China, which has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control, regularly describes Taiwan as the most important and sensitive topic in its relations with the United States.