As the high-level U.S. delegation sent a message of support for Taiwan during a visit on April 15, the Chinese regime said it conducted military drills around the island, reinforcing its threat to use force to bring Taiwan under control.
Led by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the six-member bipartisan group met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in her office in Taipei on Friday morning.
The Chinese military sent frigates, bombers, fighter jets, and other forces to the East China Sea and regions around Taiwan, Shi Yilu, spokesperson for the People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command, said, according to China’s state broadcaster.
The air and naval drills were in response to the “recent negative actions of the U.S., including the visit of a delegation of lawmakers to Taiwan,” said Zhao Lijian, the spokesperson of the regime’s foreign ministry.
Beijing would “continue to take strong measures to resolutely safeguard its sovereignty,” Zhao told reporters at Friday’s briefing.
The communist regime in Beijing is against any official exchanges between Taiwan and other governments around the world. It views the self-ruled island as its own territory to be taken by force if necessary.
On the other side of the Taiwan Strait, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) acknowledged the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had told them it was “very unhappy” about the visits, but the warning didn’t dissuade them from traveling to the island.
He emphasized, “We seek no conflict with China, as I believe Taiwan seeks no conflict with China.”
Other members of the delegation were Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Sen. Robert Portman (R-Ohio), Sen. Benjamin Sasse (R-Neb.), and Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas). They also delivered speeches to show their support for Taipei.
“To abandon Taiwan would be to abandon democracy and freedom. It would be to abandon free trade. It would reward the worst of humanity. We are here today to show our support for Taiwan,” said Graham.
Tsai expressed her welcome to the delegation and her wish to further deepen the cooperation between Taipei and Washington.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has proven that democracies must bolster their alliances. Collectively, we can defend ourselves from the threats posed by authoritarian nations that seek to disrupt regional peace,” Tsai told the U.S. delegation.
In a statement released on late Friday, Taiwan’s foreign ministry condemned the CCP’s “recalcitrant and ridiculous remarks and actions” to the U.S. delegation’s visits.
Taiwan will continue to deepen cooperation with like-minded countries, like the United States, defend the free and open Indo-Pacific region, and prevent the communist regime’s “continuous expansion,” it stated.
