Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met with a visiting US congressional delegation in Taipei on Wednesday and thanked the lawmakers for the steps the US is taking to increase support for Taiwan.
“We thank the US Congress for consistently showing bipartisan concern for Taiwan’s security and its show of support [for Taiwan] through concrete actions,” Tsai told the delegation, according to Taipei Times.
The nine-person delegation was led by Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), chair of the House Armed Services Committee. Congressional visits to Taipei anger Beijing as China is opposed to official contacts between the US and Taiwanese governments, which it views as going against the US’s one-China policy.
“We firmly oppose any form of official interaction between the US and the Taiwan authorities. All US government bodies, including the executive, legislative and judicial branches, should act on the foreign policy the US government has affirmed and committed itself to,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters Thursday.
The visit came after the House Armed Services Committee approved the House’s version of the $886 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes several provisions to increase military support for Taiwan. Tsai said she was thankful for the committee members’ efforts to “include policy measures in the annual renewal of the National Defense Authorization Act that enhanced Taiwan’s defensive capabilities.”
Tsai stressed her government’s efforts to increase military cooperation with the US. “Deepening the security cooperation between Taiwan and the US is crucial for maintaining the security of Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific region,” she said.
The US and Taiwan’s efforts to boost ties in recent years have put Taiwan under more Chinese military pressure. China’s People’s Liberation Army recently called new cooperation between the US and Taiwan “absolutely intolerable.”
According to the American Institute in Taiwan, Washington’s de facto embassy on the island, the congressional delegation concluded its trip to Taiwan on Thursday. The AIT said other members of the delegation included Reps. Adam Smith (D-WA), Joe Courtney (D-CT), John Garamendi (D-CA), Jill Tokuda (D-HI), David Rouzer (R-NC), Gary Palmer (R-AL), Jim Moylan (R-GU), and Cory Mills (R-FL).
Source: AntiWar.
