U.S. lawmakers arrive in Taiwan with China tensions simmering - Reuters
lawmakers arrived in Taiwan on Sunday for a two-day trip during which they will meet President Tsai Ing-wen, the second high-level group to visit while there are military tensions between the self-ruled island and China.
embassy in Taipei said the delegation is being led by Senator Ed Markey, who is being accompanied by four House lawmakers on what it described as part of a larger visit to the Indo-Pacific region.
"Especially at a time when China is raising tensions in the Taiwan Strait and the region with military exercises, Markey leading a delegation to visit Taiwan once again demonstrates the United States Congress' firm support for Taiwan," it said in a statement.Markey's office said the lawmakers in Taiwan "will reaffirm the United States' support for Taiwan as guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, U.S.-China Joint Communiques, and Six Assurances, and will encourage stability and peace across the Taiwan Strait.".The group will meet "with elected leaders and members of the private sector to discuss shared interests including reducing tensions in the Taiwan Strait and expanding economic cooperation, including investments in semiconductors," Markey's office said.Eleven Chinese military aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait's median line or entered Taiwan's air defence zone on Sunday, Taiwan's Defence Ministry said.read more Thirteen planes crossed the strait on Saturday, the ministry said.
officials have said Beijing "overreacted" to Pelosi's visit and used it as a pretext to try to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.
India said on Friday it opposed any unilateral change to the status quo over Taiwan but that its stance on the 'one-China' policy remained consistent, days after Beijing said it hoped New Delhi would continue to recognise its claim to self-governing Taiwan.