Three United States (US) senators visited Taiwan on a military plane for approximately three hours on Sunday. The trip invoked a strong reaction from China’s defence ministry, which condemned the visit by terming it as a “vile political provocation” and an “irresponsible and dangerous move made by the US side.”
In a press release preceding the trip, the American Institute in Taiwan explained that three senators—Democrats Tammy Duckworth and Dan Sullivan of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Republican Christopher Coons of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee—were visiting Taiwan “as part of a larger trip to the Indo-Pacific region.” The institute added that the “bipartisan congressional delegation” intended to meet with “senior Taiwan leaders,” including President Tsai Ing-wen, “to discuss US-Taiwan relations, regional security, and other significant issues of mutual interest.”
In an unusual move, however, the senators arrived in Taipei’s Songshan Airport on a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III freighter, instead of an unmarked private jet that is generally reserved for senior US visitors. The delegation was received by Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and Brent Christensen, the director of the American Institute in Taiwan.
During the visit, they also announced that the US would be donating 750,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to aid the island’s fight against COVID-19, as it has vaccinated only 3% of its population so far. “It was critical to the United States that Taiwan be included in the first group to receive vaccines because we recognize your urgent need and we value this partnership,” said Duckworth. In this regard, Wu thanked Washington for its donation and said that “we must overcome obstacles to ensure that these life-saving medicines are delivered free from trouble from Beijing.”
In response to the visit, the Ministry of National Defence of the People’s Republic of China released a press release that quoted ministry spokesperson Senior Colonel Wu Qian as calling the visit “a political show [and] an abominable political provocation that [...] aims to achieve the goal of containing China.” The ministry further added that the visit “severely breaches the one-China principle and the three joint communiqués between China and the United States,” referring to the set of joint statements between the two powers that set the foundation of their bilateral relations.
The spokesperson further urged Washington to “immediately stop any form of official exchanges or military contacts with Taiwan region, and refrain from sending any wrong signals to separatist elements” calling for “Taiwan independence”. In addition, the spokesperson also condemned Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for disregarding peace across the Taiwan Strait and warned that “those who play with fire will only burn themselves.”
Taiwan, which is claimed by Beijing as part of its own territory, is becoming a critical flashpoint in China-US relations, with China repeatedly opposing visits by US officials to Taiwan. Although the US cut ties with Taiwan in 1979 in order to officially recognise the Communist regime in Beijing, its current relationship with the island is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), which is considered to be the “cornerstone” of the US’ ties with Taiwan. The terms of this agreement require the US to provide the island with the means to defend itself, under which, the US State Department formally approved the sale of advanced weapons to Taiwan worth approximately $1.8 billion last October.
The latest visit is expected to cause a further stir in China’s relationship with the new administration in Washington.
China Condemns US Senators’ Visit to Taiwan By Military Plane
China condemned the decision of three US senators to visit Taiwan and provide vaccine aid using a military plane, describing it as a “very vicious political provocation.”
June 9, 2021
SOURCE: POOL PHOTO via AP