On Tuesday, China’s military stated that it had conducted a combat readiness patrol in the direction of the Taiwan Strait after its defence ministry condemned a visit to Taiwan by a US congressional delegation which arrived on a military aircraft. The patrol was aimed at the “seriously wrong” words and actions of “relevant countries” on the Taiwan issue and the activities of pro-independence forces in Taiwan.
Cross-strait tensions have been rising in recent months with Taiwan complaining for a year or more of repeated missions by China’s air force near the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own. Taiwan’s defence ministry stated that six Chinese military aircraft entered its south-western air defence zone on Tuesday including four J-16 fighter jets and two surveillance planes.
On Tuesday, several Taiwan media outlets reported that unspecified members from US House of Representatives and Senate had arrived in Taipei on a US military plane. When asked about the visit, Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang stated that Taiwan-US relations are “very important” and that he respects “mutual visits between friends.” He added that the government will make “appropriate arrangement” based on each others’ need without elaborating. The American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto US embassy in the absence of formal diplomatic ties, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
