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Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, a
Mississippi Republican, and Nebraska Republican Deb Fischer
arrived in Taipei on Friday for a series of high-level meetings
with senior Taiwan leaders to discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations,
regional security, trade and investment, according to the
American Institute in Taiwan, which acts as Washington’s de
facto embassy in lieu of formal diplomatic relations with the
self-governing island democracy.
Upon arrival, Wicker said: “A thriving democracy is never fully
assured … and we’re here to talk to our friends and allies in
Taiwan about what we’re doing to enhance worldwide peace.”
“At a time of global unrest, it is extremely significant for us
to be here,” Fischer added, noting that discussions would
include “security, opportunities and progress for this part of
the world.”
But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun protested
the visit, saying it “undermines China’s sovereignty and
territorial integrity, and sends a gravely wrong signal to the
separatist Taiwan independence forces.”
The pair's two-day visit to Taiwan follows stops in Hawaii,
Guam, Tinian, Pala and the Philippines.
The U.S. is Taiwan's largest supplier of arms. It provides the
island with the latest generation tanks, air defense missiles
and upgraded F-16 jet fighters as part of its guarantee of
security against Beijing's threat to invade.
China considers the American supply of arms to Taiwan a
violation of commitments made to it by previous U.S.
administrations.
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