Another U.S. congressional delegation met with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei Monday, AP reports — less than two weeks after House Nancy Pelosi's visit there ratcheted up tensions with China's government.
Driving the news: Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) is leading a five-member delegation to the self-governing island as part of a larger trip to the Indo-Pacific region, according to a statement from the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto U.S. embassy.
- Reps. John Garamendi (D-Calif.), Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), Don Beyer (D-Va.) and Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen (R-AS) arrived with Markey in Taiwan on Sunday for the two-day trip to the island.
What they're saying: Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that as "China is continuing to escalate tensions in the region, the U.S. Congress has again organized a heavyweight delegation to visit Taiwan."
- That shows "a friendship that is not afraid of China's threats and intimidation, and highlighting the U.S.' strong support towards Taiwan," the statement added.
Meanwhile, China's state-run Xinhua news agency ran an editorial Sunday headlined: "U.S. politicians should stop playing with fire on Taiwan question."
Details: The delegation was scheduled to meet with Taiwanese officials to discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations, global supply chains, trade, investment, regional security and climate change, among other topics, per the statement.
- The trip had not previously been announced.
The big picture: Beijing denounced Pelosi's trip to Taiwan earlier this month as an infringement on China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
- Her visit pushed China to initiate days of military drills near Taiwan, which Taipei said were meant to simulate an attack.
Context: Taiwan separated from China in 1949, but Beijing regards the democratically run island as a breakaway province.
Go deeper... Taiwanese shrug off China drills: "Everyone becomes numb to it"
Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.
