On Friday, Sen. Marsha Blackburn visited the island democracy and asserted that Taiwan is a separate “nation.”
In a meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday, the Tennessee Republican used the term “country” for the first time to describe Taiwan.
During her first visit to Taiwan in 2008, Blackburn had the chance to “get to experience part of your country firsthand,” she recounted.
On a conference call with reporters, Blackburn, a member of the Armed Services Committee, was questioned if her comments broke with established U.S. policy.
I believe Taiwan to be a nation. Why would China be talking about reunification if Taiwan wasn’t a nation, the Tennessee Republican questioned defiantly.
Blackburn arrived in Taipei on a U.S. military aircraft on Thursday night, making him the fourth American politician to visit the island democracy recently.
Her most recent comments would undoubtedly elicit more criticism from the CCP, which has cautioned against further U.S. arms sales and official visits to Taiwan.
China says that these visits violate American policy, known as “One China,” which recognises Beijing as the only legitimate government of China.
The United States has long engaged in a policy of strategic ambiguity on Taiwan’s defence, refusing to clarify whether it would become involved if hostilities with China started.
Taiwan is our most reliable ally in the Indo-Pacific. Regular high-level visits to Taipei are long-standing U.S. policy, according to Blackburn, who made the announcement of her visit to Taipei in a statement on Thursday. She stated, “I will not be intimidated by Communist China into abandoning the island.
The senator said in a tweet, “Xi Jinping doesn’t scare me. China was dubbed the “Axis of Evil” by her.
She had visited Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and the Solomon Islands before her trip to Taiwan as part of another show of force against China.
Blackburn told reporters, “The people in this area feel as though they are on the front lines. The threat from the CCP is real.
She continued, saying that although the Solomon Islands’ leadership had decided to cooperate with China, she discovered that the populace of the country wished their government had chosen to cooperate with the United States rather than China.
In order to increase its asymmetric stockpile for use in the event of war with China, Blackburn said Taiwan is “certainly asking for greater” military assistance from the United States.
Blackburn claimed to have discussed “our shared ideals, love of democracy and freedom” with Taiwanese leaders.
She claimed that Taiwanese authorities also spoke with her “about preserving their culture” and how grateful they were that the United States offered assistance and support without attempting to alter their way of life.
Blackburn’s trip to Taiwan is the most recent example of what politicians have started to do.
Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, along with Reps. John Garamendi of California, Alan Lowenthal of California, Don Beyer of Virginia, and Amata Radewagen of American Samoa, made the trip to the island in the middle of August.
Gov. Eric Holcomb of Indiana led a delegation of state representatives to the democratically run island a few days ago.
Pelosi was the first to anger China when she travelled to Taiwan alongside Reps. Gregory Meeks of New York, Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, Suzanne DelBene of Washington, Andy Kim of New Jersey, and Mark Takano of California.
There would be “another wave of tensions” if Washington doesn’t “show caution” after Pelosi’s visit, the Chinese ambassador Qin Gang warned last week. Following the House Speaker’s travel to Taiwan, China already ceased important military and climate change discussions and appears to be preparing the ground for conflict with increasingly belligerent military exercises in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.
Beijing has begun launching missiles and sending aircraft across a line that both nations have long regarded as a demarcation in the Taiwan Strait.
Hours after Indiana’s governor met with Taiwan’s president in a further act of defiance against Beijing, Taiwan’s defence ministry said that four Chinese aircraft had violated the Taiwan Strait’s median line on Monday.
In the upcoming weeks, the U.S. intends to dispatch naval ships to the Taiwan Strait and approve further armament sales to Taiwan.
Washington announced trade negotiations with Taipei last week as a show of support in response to China’s military threats against the island.
Taiwan has always been regarded by China as a piece of its land that will someday be taken, if necessary through force.