TAIPEI – A former U.S. senator and two former U.S. deputy secretaries of state have arrived in Taiwan, sent the first unofficial delegation by President Biden, amid heightened tensions with Beijing over the future of the self-governing island.
Christopher J. Dodd, a former Democratic senator from Connecticut, and former senior State Department officials Richard Armitage and James Steinberg touched local time in Taipei on Wednesday afternoon, Taiwan’s foreign ministry said.
The U.S. delegation will eat and discuss bilateral relations during their three-day stay with President Tsai Ing-wen and the foreign minister in Taiwan, the Taiwanese side said. The state-run Central News Agency of Taiwan reported on Wednesday that Taiwanese officials would brief the U.S. delegation on China’s recent provocations against the island and across the region, and called for more support from Washington on trade, security and intelligence. and economic matters.
The senior US delegation arrived in Taiwan a few hours before John Kerry, the Biden administration’s special climate envoy, visited Shanghai to discuss cooperation on climate issues with Beijing. Mr. Kerry said in an interview that Washington’s pursuit of climate cooperation with China would not mean that it would compromise with other points of contention with Beijing, a list that includes Taiwan.
Visits to Taiwan by senior figures attached to the U.S. government, even former officials, are hypersensitive to Beijing, which sees Taiwan as part of the Chinese territory and has become increasingly aggressive in the attitude of the island.