Just 12 days after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit, which infuriated China, a group of American politicians is visiting Taiwan.
According to the American Institute in Taiwan, the five-person delegation, headed by Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, will meet with top officials to discuss U.S.-Taiwan ties, regional security, trade, investment, and other problems. The institution speaks for the American government, which has no formal relations with Taiwan.
After Pelosi’s visit on August 2, China—which claims Taiwan is its territory—responded by launching missiles, battleships, and aircraft over Taiwan for several days.
The Chinese government is against Taiwan interacting on an official level with other countries, especially with a powerful congresswoman like Pelosi.
A U.S. government jet landed at Songshan Airport in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, at 7 p.m. on Sunday, as seen on video by a Taiwanese broadcaster.
The American Institute quickly after announcing the group will be in Taiwan on Sunday and Monday as part of a tour to Asia released a short statement, however it wasn’t verified who was on board.
Republican Rep. Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, an American Samoan representative, and Democratic House members John Garamendi and Alan Lowenthal from California, as well as Don Beyer from Virginia, make up the delegation’s other members.
Even after the military drills were over, Chinese aeroplanes continued to fly over the Taiwan Strait’s midpoint every day, with at least 10 doing so on Sunday, according to Taiwan’s Defense Ministry.
By 5 p.m. on Sunday, the ministry reported on its Twitter account that 22 Chinese military aircraft and six navy ships had been seen in the vicinity of Taiwan.