President Tsai Ing-wen has informed a bipartisan delegation of US lawmakers that Taiwan is strengthening its military ties with the United States and will work even more closely with it and other friendly nations to tackle global issues such as “authoritarian expansionism” and climate change. The group, which included Ro Khanna from California and Tony Gonzales from Texas, arrived in Taiwan on Sunday.
The US does not have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but is the island’s most important international supporter and arms supplier. During a meeting at her office in Taipei, President Tsai said that Taiwan and the United States are continuing to bolster military exchanges and that Taiwan will cooperate more actively with the US and other democratic partners to confront global issues.
China opposes any form of exchange between Taiwan and foreign governments, and has not ruled out using force to take control of the island. Khanna, a member of the US House China Select Committee, told Tsai that the group was there to strengthen security and economic ties. He also noted that their visit was not intended to provoke China, but rather to recognize the importance of the relationship between Taiwan and the US while still seeking peace in the region.
The delegation also met with the founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker. In August, China conducted its largest ever military exercises around Taiwan after then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei.
Taiwan’s democratically elected government rejects China’s sovereignty claims and insists that only the Taiwanese people can decide their future. Tensions between the US and China escalated last month when Washington accused Beijing of sending a spy balloon over North America and Secretary of State Antony Blinken cancelled his planned trip to Beijing. The craft, which Beijing said was a weather balloon that had gone off course, was eventually shot down off the coast of South Carolina.