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),

Taiwan’s president set off on a mission on Saturday to shore up relations with some of his island democracy’s shrinking band of diplomatic allies: three tiny Pacific Island nations that have taken an outsize importance in Taiwan’s struggle against Chinese efforts to push it off the international stage.

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te will leave Saturday on a week-long tour of the Pacific that includes a stopover in Hawaii, which has ignited fiery threats from Beijing. Lai, on his first trip abroad since taking office in May,