Taipei  - Taiwan's incoming president Ma Ying-jeou has dropped plans to visit the US and Japan ahead of his inauguration on May 20, his office said Thursday.

"After full discussions and communication with the US side, our two sides have reached a consensus, and the president-elect has decided not to visit," said Lo Chih-chiang, spokesman of Ma's office.

He said Ma has also decided to call off his plan to visit to Japan before May 20 following discussions with the Japanese.

He declined to give details, nor would he say whether Washington and Tokyo chose not to have Ma visit because of pressure from China.

Ma has said he wants to visit the US and Japan ahead of his inauguration because after he becomes president on May 20 it would be difficult for him to visit the two countries, except for transit stops, due to opposition from China.

Taiwan and China split at the end of a civil war in 1949, but Beijing still considers Taiwan an integral part of the mainland not entitled to have sovereign contacts with other countries.

Stephen Young, the US de facto ambassador in Taiwan in the absence of official ties, Thursday confirmed that a visit by Ma to the US "wasn't needed."

He denied it was a decision by the US State Department, but the result of communication between him and Ma. Young also declined to say if the "Chinese element" made Ma to finally decide to drop his visiting plan.

Japan's de facto embassy in Taipei was not immediately available for comment.

Ma won the presidential election in a landslide on March 22, allowing his Nationalist Party or Kuomintang to return to power, lost after Chen Shui-bian of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party captured the presidency in 2000. (dpa)