Taiwan has a 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 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 that countries stop any engagements with the island.

Last month, Taiwan said China had forced ⁠three Indian Ocean countries to pull overflight permission for Lai’s aircraft to travel to the ​small southern African kingdom of Eswatini for the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession.

It ​is one of only 12 countries with formal ties with Taipei.

“The Republic of China, Taiwan, is a sovereign nation and a Taiwan that belongs to the world,” Lai told the king, referring to Taiwan’s official name, in comments ​provided by the presidential office on Sunday.

“The 23 million people of Taiwan have the right ​to engage with the world, and no country has the right — nor should any country attempt — to prevent ‌Taiwan from ⁠contributing to the world.”

Lai arrived in the former Swaziland, home to around 1.3 million people, on Saturday, on a trip neither government had announced beforehand, having taken an Eswatini government aircraft.

The “arrive then announce” model is commonly used in high-level international diplomacy, minimising the “uncertain risks of potential interference from ​external forces”, a senior ​Taiwan security official ⁠said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Late Saturday, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said Lai had “skulked” his way to ​Eswatini.

“Lai Ching-te’s despicable conduct — like a rat scurrying across the street — will ​inevitably be ⁠met with ridicule by the international community,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

Taiwan’s China-policy-making Mainland Affairs Council said Lai did not need Beijing’s permission to go anywhere.