US Lawmaker Visits to Taiwan Hit Decade High, Irking China
(Bloomberg) -- A bipartisan group of US lawmakers arrived in Taiwan on Wednesday, bringing the number of congressional visitors this year to the highest in at least a decade as displays of support for the island grow.
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The delegation of two Democratic and six Republican members of the House of Representatives, led by Florida Democrat Stephanie Murphy, landed in Taipei as part of a trip to the region, according to a statement from the de facto US embassy in Taipei. Murphy is vice-chair of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations.
The visit means 28 members of Congress have traveled to Taiwan this year, the most since at least 2013, according to Bloomberg-compiled data. Bipartisan support for Taiwan is high as US politicians look to demonstrate their resolve in the face of what they see as China’s growing regional ambitions and fears that it might invade.
Murphy underscored the US’s determination to strengthen ties with Taiwan in the face of Chinese pressure. “One of the most important things Congress can do right now is to deepen economic relationship with Taiwan, and in particular, by pushing for a high-quality free-trade agreement between the US and Taiwan,” Murphy said during the meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen on Thursday.
Another member of the delegation, Representative Scott Franklin, a Florida Republican, highlighted Taiwan’s economic value to the global economy, saying its production of semiconductors is critical to supply chains.
It’s the fourth US congressional delegation to touch down in Taipei since last month, when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi became the first sitting speaker to visit in a quarter century. More than 40 lawmakers have visited Taiwan since US President Joe Biden took office.
That compares with 35 during the previous four years under former President Donald Trump, when the pandemic interrupted travel.
“The baseline of congressional support for Taiwan is quite strong and always has been,” said Drew Thompson, a former Defense Department official and visiting senior fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore.
“Because of China’s pressure on Taiwan, military coercion in particular as demonstrated from Pelosi’s visit, the result is that Taiwan has a much higher priority and is much more competitive on the agenda.”
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A French delegation was expected to meet Vice President William Lai on Thursday.
While the US views regular congressional visits as consistent with its “one China” policy of avoiding formal relations with Taipei, Beijing has accused American lawmakers of supporting what it calls “separatists.” China responded to Pelosi’s visit by firing ballistic missiles over the island and holding near-daily flights across the US-drawn median line that divides the Taiwan Strait.
When asked about the visiting US lawmakers, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a regular press briefing Thursday that Beijing would “take strong measures to firmly safeguard our sovereignty and territorial integrity,” without elaborating.
The Biden administration sent two US Navy cruisers through the strait last month, in the first such transit since Pelosi’s visit. It is also preparing a potential $1.1 billion US arms package to Taiwan that would include missiles and radar support.
China Invading Taiwan Is ‘Distinct Threat,’ Jake Sullivan Says
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Wednesday a Chinese invasion of Taiwan remains a “distinct threat,” while insisting that Washington hasn’t changed its position over the island’s status, despite Chinese claims.
Although he offered no prediction of when such an attack might occur during an interview on Bloomberg Television, he said: “The People’s Republic of China has actually stated as official policy that it is not taking the invasion of Taiwan off the table.”
(Updates with comments from China’s Foreign Ministry. An earlier version corrected the number of lawmakers in the third paragraph.)
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