Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te has decided to delay his planned visit to the island’s last remaining diplomatic allies in Latin America, as different explanations have been given for the decision.

Lai was expected to travel to the Americas later this month, during a period when his government was working to strengthen support in a region where several countries have already switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China, which views Taiwan as part of its territory.

While some reports stated that the Trump administration opposed Lai’s possible stopover in New York, the Taiwanese government said the president currently had no foreign travel plans due to internal issues, including recent natural disasters and ongoing tariff negotiations with the United States.

However, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to the Associated Press that the United States “had requested Taipei to reschedule the transit – not travel through New York.” According to the Financial Times, Washington had denied permission for Lai to make a stop in New York after China raised objections about the visit with the US government.

The United States has typically allowed stopovers by leaders from Taiwan, but Lai’s visit was seen as likely to provoke Beijing, especially as US President Donald Trump was attempting to secure a trade deal with China. China frequently criticises any signs of support for Taiwan from Washington.

The delay has raised concerns among analysts that the United States is sending a poor signal about how it handles its relationship with China.

In the meantime, Guatemalan embassy officials said the visit was postponed because of the “typhoon that brought numerous natural disasters” in Taiwan. A source who spoke to Reuters said Lai also had to oversee his government’s response to the severe weather conditions affecting the island.

Taiwan was still dealing with the aftermath of Typhoon Danas, which struck the densely populated western coast earlier this month with strong winds and caused widespread damage to power infrastructure and residential buildings.

When asked about the delay, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said during a press briefing that no official travel plans had been made, so the situation was “hypothetical.”

“At this moment, there have been no … president travel plans. There has been, therefore, nothing cancelled,” she said, adding that high-level stopovers by Taiwanese officials in the US “were entirely consistent with our long-standing policy and practice.”

Jason Hsu, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a former Taiwanese legislator, said Taipei routinely consults with Washington on transit matters and called it “abnormal” for the US not to allow the stopover, especially since such visits are permitted under the Taiwan Relations Act.

He added that if the US had blocked Lai’s stop, it would make the Trump administration appear “to be accommodating China’s red lines.”

Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee criticised the Trump administration for giving in to Beijing. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, the top Democrat on the House’s China committee, described the move as “yet another example of the Trump administration folding to China in order to get a trade agreement.”

“Both parties’ presidents have permitted Taiwan officials to travel through the US previously and now should be no exception,” he said in a statement.