A delegation of U.S. lawmakers arrived in Taiwan on Sunday for a two-day trip during which they will meet President Tsai Ing-wen, the second high-level group to visit while there are military tensions between the self-ruled island and China.
Beijing, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has conducted military drills around the island to express its anger over U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosiโs visit to Taipei in early August.
The de facto U.S. embassy in Taipei said the delegation is being led by Senator Ed Markey, who is being accompanied by four House lawmakers on what it described as part of a larger visit to the Indo-Pacific region.
Taiwanโs presidential office said the group would meet Tsai on Monday morning.
โEspecially at a time when China is raising tensions in the Taiwan Strait and the region with military exercises, Markey leading a delegation to visit Taiwan once again demonstrates the United States Congressโ firm support for Taiwan,โ it said in a statement.
Markey chairs the Senate Foreign Relations East Asia, Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Subcommittee. The co-leaders of the visit are Representative John Garamendi of the congressional Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control Working Group and Representative Don Beyer, a spokesperson for Markey said.
Markeyโs office said the lawmakers โwill reaffirm the United Statesโ support for Taiwan as guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, U.S. โ China Joint Communiques, and Six Assurances, and will encourage stability and peace across the Taiwan Strait.โ
The group will meet โwith elected leaders and members of the private sector to discuss shared interests including reducing tensions in the Taiwan Strait and expanding economic cooperation, including investments in semiconductors,โ Markeyโs office said.
Taiwanโs Foreign Ministry published pictures of four of the group being met at Taipeiโs downtown Songshan airport having arrived on a U.S. air force transport jet, while Markey arrived at the Taoyuan international airport.
โThe delegation will meet with senior Taiwan leaders to discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade and investment, global supply chains, climate change, and other significant issues of mutual interest,โ the de facto U.S embassy said.
While Chinaโs drills around Taiwan have abated, it is still carrying out military activities.
Eleven Chinese military aircraft crossed the Taiwan Straitโs median line or entered Taiwanโs air defence zone on Sunday, Taiwanโs Defence Ministry said.
