Taiwan President William Lai’s Pacific tour highlights efforts to counter China’s expansion

Taiwanese President William Lai’s stopovers in Hawaii and Guam during his first overseas trip to Taiwan’s Pacific diplomatic allies reflect efforts by Taiwan and the US to challenge China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the Taipei Times reported on Tuesday, citing a Taipei-based security expert.

The Taiwanese president arrived in Hawaii on Saturday for a two-day stopover en route to Palau, the Marshall Islands, and Tuvalu, with a stop in Guam scheduled for his return journey.

Lai’s trip is seen as a strategic move to link the first, second, and third island chains, according to Sun Tzu-yun, a research fellow at the Institute for National Defence and Security Research, the Taipei Times reported. Taiwan lies on the first island chain, with Guam and Palau along the second, and Hawaii on the third. Su emphasized the strategic importance of these islands in countering China’s expansion, particularly its BRI.

The first island chain is regarded as a critical line of defense against Chinese expansion and a vital maritime route for fuel, with Taiwan at its core, the Taipei Times reported. Su noted that China’s infrastructure projects in the Solomon Islands, Peru, and Kiribati–such as deep-water ports and a space tracking station–underscore the importance of fortifying the second island chain to defend the first. These efforts align with the strategic interests of the US and its allies, the report added.

Open-source data revealed the deployment of several US carrier strike groups, including the George Washington CSG in Yokosuka, Japan; the Abraham Lincoln CSG in Port Klang, Malaysia; and the USS Carl Vinson in the East Pacific. When asked if these deployments were connected to Lai’s trip, Chieh Chung, a research fellow at the Association of Strategic Foresight, stated that they were likely intended to deter China but were not specifically tied to Lai’s itinerary.

Experts suggest that Lai’s transit through the US could provoke Beijing into conducting large-scale military exercises near Taiwan to establish a response framework for US President-elect Donald Trump regarding Taiwan, according to the Taipei Times. However, such actions might backfire by provoking Trump, the academic noted.

The three island chains are of considerable strategic importance. The first island chain includes the Aleutian Islands, Japan, South Korea, the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, the Philippines, and the Greater Sunda Islands. The second island chain spans the Izu, Bonin, Mariana, and Caroline Islands, Guam, Palau, and Halmahera Island. The third island chain includes Alaska, Hawaii, US-governed Pacific Islands, Australia, and New Zealand.