US lawmakers arrived in Taiwan on Sunday as Chinese fighter jets buzzed overhead and the US State Department accused Beijing of “military provocations.”
China carried out extensive military exercises around the island on Thursday and Friday in the wake of President Lai Ching-te’s inauguration.
Beijing called the military exercises a “punishment” for Lai’s inaugural speech, which China described as a new push for the island’s formal independence.
This week’s visit was the first by a US congressional delegation since Lai was inaugurated on May 20. It is intended as a show of support even after Chinese officials expressed opposition to the trip by the bipartisan group of lawmakers.
“I think it is very important that we show our strong support for Taiwan. I think it’s a deterrent,” Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told NBC News before their arrival.
Taiwanese defense attack helicopters fly over Taipei city during the presidential inauguration
A Chinese embassy official warned McCaul against the visit, according to an email first obtained by NBC News.
The email also described Lai’s inauguration speech as “the worst speech ever by a new Taiwanese leader.”
“It proved once again that Mr. Lai has chosen an independence course and is on his way to putting it into practice,” the email said.
The delegation’s visit also comes after Congress recently approved about $2 billion in military aid to Taiwan in hopes of boosting its defensive capabilities against China.
Also in the delegation are Representatives Young Kim, Republican of California; Representative Joe Wilson, Republican of South Carolina; Representative Jimmy Panetta, Democrat of California; Representative Andy Barr, Republican of Kentucky, and Representative Chrissy Houlahan, Democrat of Pennsylvania.
Lai, 65, who has served as the island’s vice president for the past four years, says he is in favor of maintaining the status quo, neither formally declaring independence nor becoming part of China.
He has also said that only the Taiwanese people can decide its future. He has repeatedly offered talks but was rejected by China.
Lawmakers will meet with Lai on Monday.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te was inaugurated on May 20
A Chinese fighter jet preparing for the ‘Joint Sword-2024A’ military exercise over Taiwan
China has not ruled out the use of force in its reunification with Taiwan.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said it had tracked 49 Chinese military aircraft and 19 Chinese naval ships operating around the island on Friday. It called Beijing’s exercises “irrational provocation.”
In his inauguration speech, Lai urged China to stop its political and military threats against Taiwan, which he called “a frontline guardian of world peace.”
“I hope that China will face the reality of the existence of the Republic of China, respect the choices of the Taiwanese people and in good faith choose dialogue over confrontation,” Lai said, renaming Taiwan used.
China expressed its disapproval of Lai during joint military exercises in the Taiwan Strait and around groups of Taiwan-controlled islands near the Chinese coast, prompting the Taiwanese military to mobilize its own forces.
Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, leads the U.S. delegation
“This action targets Taiwan’s independence forces and deters external forces from interfering, which is completely reasonable, legal and necessary,” Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said at a news conference in Beijing on Friday.
The US State Department said on Saturday that the United States is “deeply concerned” by Chinese military exercises in the Taiwan Strait and strongly urged the country to act with restraint.
“Using a normal, routine and democratic transition as an excuse for military provocations risks escalation and erodes long-standing norms that have maintained peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait for decades,” the State Department said in a statement.