Biden dispatches unofficial delegation to Taiwan


That unofficial delegation is comprised of former Sen. Chris Dodd and former senior State Department officers Richard Armitage and James Steinberg. Their journey comes as China has carried out various aggressive reveals of power towards the island.

“The selection of these three individuals — senior statesmen who are longtime friends of Taiwan and personally close with President Biden — sends an important signal about the US commitment to Taiwan and its democracy,” the officers mentioned.

They will meet with senior Taiwanese officers at Biden’s request, the officers mentioned. Reuters was first to report on the unofficial delegation.

“This delegation follows a longstanding bipartisan tradition of US administrations sending high-level, unofficial delegations to Taiwan,” the officers mentioned, including that their journey additionally comes because the US and Taiwan “mark the 42nd anniversary of the signing of the Taiwan Relations Act, for which President Biden voted.”

Beijing claims Taiwan as its territory, though it has been ruled individually for greater than seven many years. Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed that Beijing won’t ever permit the island to change into unbiased and has refused to rule out the usage of power if essential.

On Monday, China despatched 25 warplanes into Taiwan’s air protection identification zone, the most important breach of that house because the island started often reporting such exercise in September, in accordance to Taiwan’s Defense Ministry.

In an interview with NBC on Sunday, Secretary of State Tony Blinken mentioned, “What we’ve seen and what is a real concern to us is increasingly aggressive actions by the government in Beijing directed at Taiwan, raising tensions in the straits.”

“And we have a commitment to Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act, a bipartisan commitment that’s existed for many, many years, to make sure that Taiwan has the ability to defend itself and to make sure that we’re sustaining peace and security in the Western Pacific. We stand behind those commitments,” he mentioned.

“It would be a serious mistake for anyone to try to change the existing status quo by force,” Blinken mentioned.

Under the “One China” Policy, Washington maintains formal ties with Beijing and casual ones with Taiwan. The US often sells navy gear to the island.

On Friday, the State Department “issued new guidelines for US government interaction with Taiwan counterparts to encourage US government engagement with Taiwan that reflects our deepening unofficial relationship.”

“The guidance underscores Taiwan is a vibrant democracy and an important security and economic partner that is also a force for good in the international community,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price mentioned.

The unofficial delegation’s go to comes simply weeks after the US Ambassador to Palau, John Hennesey-Niland, turned the primary sitting US Ambassador journey to Taiwan in an official capability in additional than 40 years.

During the Trump administration various administration officers dispatched to Taiwan as a part of the administration’s effort to counter China.

CNN’s Brad Lendon contributed to this report.



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