US Congress team follows Pelosi to Taiwan

Taiwan Aug 14 AFP/Hindustan Times - A US congressional delegation has arrived for an unannounced visit to Taiwan, 12 days after a tour of the island by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The delegation had visited the country for a two-day visit and is the second high-level US group to come amid continued military tensions with the island’s giant neighbour China.

The de facto US embassy in Taipei said the delegation is being led by Senator Ed Markey, who is being accompanied by four other 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.

Taiwan’s presidential office said the group would meet Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Monday morning.  Beijing, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has been holding military drills around the island to express its anger at this month’s visit to Taipei by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

While China’s drills around Taiwan have abated, it is still carrying out military activities.

Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said on Sunday it had detected 22 Chinese aircraft and six naval ships in and around the Taiwan Strait.