Five U.S. lawmakers arrive in Taiwan to meet Taiwanese president

While the U.S. congressional delegation to Taiwan, led by Senator Ed. Markey, met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Monday China reacted with a series of reprisal military operations. The delegation arrived in Taiwan on August 14, only after 12 days since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit and the U.S. is planning another visit of a delegation of other congressional members to the country at the end of August.

The spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of National Defense made a sharp comment that “The Chinese military will continue its military drills and Taiwan’s reliance on the U.S. for independence will only end up bringing the nation’s collapse upon itself.” According to Taiwan’s official media outlet, China scrambled its fighters into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) at least seven times for a show of force on Monday. The day before, the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense announced that 22 fighter aircraft and 6 naval ships were detected in and around the Taiwan Strait. Eleven aircraft, including four Sukhoi Su-30 fighters and two Shenyang J-16 jets, crossed the Taiwan Strait’s median line and an early warning aircraft KJ-500 invaded the country’s southwest ADIZ.

The U.S. delegation of five democratic and republic senators and representatives, including Chairman Ed Markey of the Senate Foreign Relations East Asia, Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Subcommittee, met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and had a meeting with the members of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee of Taiwan’s Parliament. American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said that the delegation which arrived in Taiwan on Sunday, will have discussions on U.S.-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade and investment, and the global supply net until Tuesday.

Democratic Sen. Ed Markey, a leading figure in the U.S. Congress, is known as a pro-Taiwan lawmaker for introducing the bill “Taiwan ASSURE Act,” which includes the support for Taiwan to join international organizations and the enhancement of U.S.-Taiwan military cooperation. The delegation members, Democratic Rep. John Garamendi, the chair of the House Armed Services Readiness Committee, is reviewing the U.S. Department of Defense’s support for weapons to Taiwan.


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