China urged the US not to allow Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen to stop over in Hawaii next week as part of her visit to the island’s diplomatic allies in the Pacific, Reuters reported.

Tsai will reportedly fly in transit through Hawaii after an eight-day visit to Palau, Nauru and the Marshall Islands.

According to the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang, China made “stern representations” over Tsai’s planned stopover in the US.

“We have consistently and resolutely opposed the United States or other countries which have diplomatic relations with China arranging this kind of transit,” he said adding that China urged the US not to send “Taiwan independence forces any wrong signal.”

China considers Taiwan as a wayward province, with no right to state-to-state relations, the source added.

According to a spokeswoman for the US State Department, Tsai’s transit was based on US practice “out of consideration for the safety, comfort, convenience, and dignity of the traveler.”

The US does not have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but it is the island’s largest arms supplier and the most influential international patron.