Taiwan leader Lai visits Guam on his second stop in US territory

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s leader is visiting Guam on Thursday in his second stop in U.S. territory on an ongoing overseas trip.

President Lai Ching-te arrived late Wednesday night from the Pacific Island country of Tuvalu. Photos posted by broadcaster KUAM showed him walking off a private jet in a tropical-themed shirt. He visited Hawaii last weekend at the start of his trip.

Such visits typically anger China, which views Taiwan as part of it territory and says that the self-governing island must come under its control. The United States is the main overseas supplier of arms for Taiwan’s defense.

Earlier this week, China’s Foreign Ministry said it “strongly condemned” U.S. support for Lai’s visit to Hawaii and lodged a complaint with the U.S.

Lai will meet Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero and the Taiwanese community in the American territory, KUAM reported.

He is then scheduled to fly to Palau, the final stop on his trip. Besides Tuvalu, the Taiwan president also visited the Marshall Islands before arriving in Guam.