Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense announced that 30 Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes and five ships were spotted in the Taiwan Strait on Monday.
A US congressional delegation led by Senator Ed Markey arrived in Taipei on Sunday for a previously unannounced two-day visit that followed a trip by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi earlier this month.
Pelosi’s visit, the first by a sitting speaker in 25 years, angered Beijing, which responded by launching major multi-day military exercises around Taiwan.
China’s military said last Wednesday it had “successfully completed” those drills, but vowed to “regularly conduct” more patrols in the direction of the Taiwan Strait.
China’s ruling Chinese Communist Party considers Taiwan part of its territory, even though it has never controlled it, and has long vowed to “reunify” the island with mainland China, by force if necessary.
Markey’s five-member delegation visited the self-ruled island in an effort to “reaffirm United States support for Taiwan” and “encourage stability and peace in the Taiwan Strait,” a spokesman for the senator said in a statement.
At their meeting on Monday, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen thanked the delegation for visiting at a “pivotal moment” and for showing their support for Taiwan with action.
Tsai said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has highlighted the threat to global order from authoritarian regimes and that China’s recent military exercises around the island have “seriously disrupted” regional peace and stability.
“Taiwan has not only worked closely with our international friends, closely monitoring all military movements around us, but has continued to convey to the world our determination to maintain the status quo in the Taiwan Strait,” the president said.
Tsai added that Taiwan wishes to “further deepen our cooperation with the US and jointly maintain prosperity and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. In the face of global authoritarian expansionism, Taiwan is also keen to deepen trade relations with like-minded democracies and build a more resilient supply chain.”
In response, Markey praised Tsai for her leadership, saying it was an “honor” to “stand by Tsai and stand with Taiwan,” according to a statement from the presidential office.
“In such uncertain times, we must make more efforts to ensure Taiwan’s peace and stability. We have a moral obligation to actively prevent any unnecessary conflicts. In responding to this greatest challenge, Taiwan has shown incredible restraint and discretion,” said Marky.
Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu also thanked the delegation for their visit after hosting the team at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday.
“Authoritarian #China cannot dictate how democratic #Taiwan makes friends, gains support, remains resilient and shines as a beacon of freedom,” Wu wrote in a post on the ministry’s Twitter account.
In a statement on Monday, China’s Ministry of Defense called the congressional delegation’s trip an “ambush visit” that “violates China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The military exercises by the Eastern Theater Command were a “solemn deterrent” of “conspiracy and provocation” by the US and Taiwan, spokesman Wu Qian said.
Beijing’s foreign ministry also denounced the congressional visit in a regular news briefing on Monday.
Spokesman Wang Wenbin said China urges the US “not to cause further damage to Sino-US relations and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
“China will take decisive and strong measures to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Wang said.
CNN’s Eric Cheung, Gladys Tsai and Devan Cole contributed to this report.
