The U.S. expressed concern that several African nations blocked flight clearances for Taiwan's leader, claiming the incident was an abuse of international civil aviation systems. Taiwan noted the revocation of permits from countries like the Seychelles and Madagascar during a planned trip to eSwatini.

The United States is concerned that several African countries revoked overflight clearances for Taiwan’s leader at China’s behest, the US State Department said on Wednesday, calling the incident an abuse of the international civil aviation system. Taiwan this week said the Seychelles, Mauritius ‌and Madagascar unilaterally revoked flight permits for leader William Lai Ching-te’s aircraft to cross airspace they manage on a planned trip to eSwatini, one of Taiwan’s allies. It is the first instance...