(Corrects gender of spokesperson to she in paragraph 7)
By Ryan Woo and Ben Blanchard
BEIJING/TAIPEI, April 22 (Reuters) - China heaped praise on Wednesday on three African countries that refused to let Taiwan President Lai Ching-te's aircraft fly over their territories, forcing him to cancel a trip to Eswatini, while Lai vowed he would not be cowed by Beijing's pressure.
It is the first instance of a Taiwan president having to cancel an entire foreign trip due to denial of airspace access, representing a new Chinese strategy as its steps up efforts to stifle the island's efforts to engage internationally.
Lai had been due to leave for the small southern African kingdom, one of just 12 countries with diplomatic ties to Chinese-claimed Taiwan, but the previous night Taiwan said his visit had to be delayed.
Taiwan said Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar had revoked permission for Lai's aircraft to fly over their territories.
Lai said China had used economic "coercion" to get their cooperation - a claim denied by a spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office.
Zhang Han, the spokesperson, expressed appreciation for the position and "practice" of the three countries in adhering to the one-China principle.
"A just cause enjoys abundant support, while an unjust cause finds little support," she told a regular news conference in Beijing, quoting the ancient Chinese philosopher Mencius.
China views democratically-governed Taiwan as its territory despite Taipei's rejection of the claim, and frequently calls the issue a "red line" in its diplomatic relations with other countries.
In a separate statement, China's foreign ministry said it was clear there was "no longer a so-called Republic of China president in the world anymore", referring to Taiwan by its formal name.
"Anyone who wears that false title is acting against history and will only invite disgrace upon themselves," it said.
LAI DEFIANT
Speaking to a meeting of his Democratic Progressive Party in Taipei on Wednesday, Lai said Taiwan's people have a right to engage with the world.
"No country can stop this, and none will be able to. The harder China suppresses us, the more we must demonstrate a spirit of fearlessness," he added.
Madagascar and the Seychelles said they took the decision because they do not recognise Taiwan.
The cancellation of the Taiwan president's visit did not alter Eswatini's longstanding two-way ties with the island, said acting government spokesperson Thabile Mdluli.
"As a sovereign nation, Eswatini continues to pursue an independent and principled foreign policy that prioritises peace, cooperation and mutually beneficial partnerships with all members of the international community," Mdluli added.
TAIWAN CONDEMNS CHINA
China has a special dislike of Lai, whom it calls a "separatist". He rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims.
Taiwan condemned China's actions.
On Wednesday, its foreign ministry described the comments by Seychelles and Madagascar as being "in servitude of China".
Though the U.S. State Department has yet to comment, several U.S. lawmakers expressed concern.
"This is not diplomacy; it is economic pressure aimed at isolating a democratic partner," the U.S. House Select Committee on China wrote on X.
The move comes a little more than a week after China rolled out new incentives for Taiwan, including the easing of food imports, after opposition leader Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of the Kuomintang (KMT), met President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
The KMT, which is often at odds with Lai's government, called on China to exercise restraint and give Taiwan sufficient diplomatic space.
"I think mainland China's pressure is not clever, especially after the Cheng-Xi meeting," senior KMT lawmaker Lai Shyh-bao told reporters in Taipei.
(Editing by Kim Coghill)
