DM Monitoring
TAIPEI: A US congressional delegation arrived in Taiwan on Sunday, of-ficials said, days after China held Military drills around the Island region in retaliation for US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit.
Sunday’s unannounced trip came after Pelosi infuriated Beijing by visit-ing Taiwan earlier this month, sparking unprecedented air and sea drills that raised the prospect of conflict.
The five-member delegation, led by Senator Ed Markey of Massachu-setts, will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen and attend a banquet hosted by Foreign Minister Joseph Wu during the visit, according to Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry.
They will discuss “US-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade and in-vestment, global supply chains, climate change, and other significant is-sues of mutual interest”, the American Institute in Taiwan said in a statement. Taiwan hailed the delegation’s visit as another sign of warm ties be-tween Taipei and Washington.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses its sincere welcome (to the delegation),” the ministry said in a statement Sunday. China earlier this week vowed zero tolerance for “separatist activities” in Taiwan and reaffirmed its threat that it would take control of the self-ruled island by force if provoked.
“We are ready to create vast space for peaceful reunification, but we will leave no room for separatist activities in any form,” China’s Taiwan Af-fairs Office said in a White Paper Wednesday.
China will “not renounce the use of force, and we reserve the option of taking all necessary measures”.
It added, however: “We will only be forced to take drastic measures to respond to the provocation of separatist elements or external forces should they ever cross our red lines.” China last issued a White Paper on Taiwan in 2000.
