US LAWMAKERS ARRIVE IN TAIWAN DESPITE CHINA’S IRE

US Congressional delegation led by Senator Ed Markey arrived in Taiwan on Sunday for a two-day visit.

Mon 15 August 2022:

In a show of solidarity for Taiwan amid escalating tensions across the Taiwan Strait, five U.S. legislators who are now in Taiwan met with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and other lawmakers on Monday.

The U.S. congressional delegation arrived on Sunday for a surprise two-day visit, which came after Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, visited earlier this month.

The visit was apparently planned months ago, said Bonnie Glaser, director of the Asia program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

“Many congressmen want to visit to show U.S. support,” Ms. Glaser said. Another congressional group is expected to visit Taiwan before the end of the month, she added.

China increased pressure on Taiwan both militarily and economically after Pelosi’s 19-hour visit to Taipei on August 2-3.

After the visit, Beijing fired five missiles into waters that are part of Japan’s exclusive economic zone, a warning to Japan and the United States about coming to the aid of Taiwan in the event of a conflict.

Last week, China wrapped up 72 hours of live-fire exercises that encircled Taiwan and that simulated a blockade of the island. China’s air force continues to fly military aircraft on a daily basis across the median line of Taiwan’s Strait.

The delegation includes Republicans and Democrats and is made up of Senator Ed Markey and Representatives John Garamendi, Alan Lowenthal, Don Beyer and Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen.

Local TV reports showed the lawmakers entering the presidential office to meet with Tsai on Monday then heading to the parliamentary building nearby.

Legislator Lo Chih-cheng of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) told reporters that issues discussed at a meeting with U.S. lawmakers include future Taiwan-US military cooperation.

Lo said the U.S. group’s visit at such a sensitive time, coming shortly after China’s large-scale drills near Taiwan, shows that Beijing cannot prevent leading political figures from around the world from visiting Taiwan.

“Their arrival also delivers an important message that American people are standing with Taiwanese people,” Lo said.

Tsai’s office has not released any details about the meeting.

“I’m travelling to Taiwan with a bipartisan congressional delegation to reaffirm U.S. support for Taiwan and encourage stability and peace across the Taiwan Strait,” Markey said on Twitter.

China is very likely to respond to the congressional visit, said Charles Kupchan, professor of international relations at Georgetown University, who served on the National Security Council in the Obama administration.

“I expect Beijing to take steps to express its displeasure, like it did with Pelosi,” Mr. Kupchan said. “This is how confrontation builds.”

In Beijing, China’s Defence Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian said on Monday that the visit by the U.S. delegation undermined China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Taiwan has had an independent government since 1949, but China considers the island part of its territory. Beijing rejects official contacts between other countries and Taipei.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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