Another U.S. Congressional Delegation Lands in Taiwan

Aug. 15, 2022 (EIRNS)—One provocation begets another. Yesterday, another U.S. Congressional delegation, led by Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and including four members of the House, landed in Taipei twelve days after the visit of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Markey’s office said yesterday that the lawmakers in Taiwan would “reaffirm the United States’ support for Taiwan as guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, U.S.-China Joint Communiqués, and Six Assurances, and will encourage stability and peace across the Taiwan Strait.” The group was to 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.” The delegation met with Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen, of the pro-independence DPP party, this morning.

This morning, Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesperson for the PLA Eastern Theater Command confirmed that the Congressional delegation would be met by Chinese military exercises, which would go on today involving joint combat-readiness security patrol and combat training exercise involving troops of multiple services and arms in waters and airspace around Taiwan Island . According to Shi, this is a solemn deterrent to the United States and the Taiwan authorities, which have repeatedly played political tricks and undermined peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits.

“Just 12 days after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island of Taiwan, a delegation of U.S. lawmakers made a sudden visit to the island on Sunday, further proving that the U.S. is the one that makes repeated provocations and keeps tensions from easing, said Chinese experts,” Global Times wrote.

“The People’s Liberation Army’s military drills encircling the island of Taiwan have sent a loud and clear-cut warning signal, but some U.S. politicians are still ‘playing with fire’ to serve their own political interests, so the international community can see clearly who is the troublemaker that always ignores warnings and keeps worsening regional peace with endless provocations, and sooner or later, they will be ‘burned’ and punished, they noted.”