Washington on Monday said that US members of Congress would continue to visit Taiwan, while condemning China for restarting live-fire exercises around Taiwan amid a visit to Taipei by US lawmakers, saying it was an “overreaction.”
China conducted drills in the sea and airspace around Taiwan on Monday while a five-member US delegation led by US Senator Ed Markey was in Taipei, near the end of their 21-hour visit.
As of 5pm, China had deployed 30 warplanes and five military vessels in areas around Taiwan, and 15 of the aircraft had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, the Ministry of National Defense said.
Photo: Reuters
Asked about Beijing’s response to Markey’s visit at a news briefing, US Department of State spokesperson Ned Price said that any response to a peaceful visit “that entails bellicose rhetoric or military maneuvers or provocative actions is totally unnecessary and an absolute overreaction.”
Members of the US Congress have visited Taiwan for decades, with about 10 or more congressional delegations having visited Taiwan this year alone, and they would continue to do so, Price said, adding that the practice is in line with the US’ longstanding “one China” policy.
The US has taken measured and responsible steps in response to Beijing’s maneuvers so as not to escalate the situation, Price said.
Photo: CNA
However, “we won’t be deterred from flying, from sailing, from operating in the region in accordance with international law,” he added.
US President Joe Biden on Friday directed the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, operating in the Philippines, to remain on station longer than planned, and announced that additional steps in support of Taiwan would be forthcoming, Price said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said that 33 US members of Congress have visited Taiwan since last year, continuing what has been decades of US visits.
This year alone, Taiwan has welcomed 19 US lawmakers — eight senators and 11 representatives — in addition to the three senators and 11 representatives who visited last year, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) told a regular news briefing.
Meanwhile in Singapore, US Seventh Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Karl Thomas yesterday called China’s decision to fire missiles over Taiwan a “gorilla in the room” that must be challenged.
“It’s very important that we contest this type of thing,” Thomas told reporters. “If we just allow that to happen, and we don’t contest that, that’ll be the next norm.”
The Seventh Fleet is based in Japan and is a core part of Washington’s navy presence in the Pacific.
Thomas compared the threats against Taiwan to the South China Sea where Beijing spent years constructing military bases and facilities on a series of contested atolls, which it has denied doing.
“If you don’t challenge it ... all of a sudden it can become just like the islands in the South China Sea [that] have now become military outposts,” he said. “They now are full-functioning military outposts that have missiles on them, large runways, hangars, radars, listening posts.”
Speaking to Radio Free Asia on Monday, former US deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) bears all responsibility for cross-strait crises.
Armitage, who visited Taiwan in April last year with an unofficial delegation sent by Biden, said that Xi has made many mistakes, including miscalculating the US’ support for Taiwan, supporting Russia in its war in Ukraine and its “zero COVID” strategy.
He is now facing economic and diplomatic fallout from these mistakes for which he must bear responsibility, challenging his bid to retain the presidency later this year, Armitage said.
Additional reporting by Lu Yi-hsuan
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from