House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul said he plans to lead a bipartisan delegation to Taiwan this spring, despite renewed tensions with Beijing over China’s alleged spy balloon incursion over the US.
(Bloomberg) — House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul said he plans to lead a bipartisan delegation to Taiwan this spring, despite renewed tensions with Beijing over China’s alleged spy balloon incursion over the US.
“I think it’s important to show China that we support Taiwan as a deterrence. I think it’s important to do that,” McCaul said in an interview Tuesday.
The schedule and member list remains fluid, but the trip would likely take place during the congressional recess in April, a person familiar with the matter said. Discussions with some House Democrats have started about joining such a trip with McCaul, said one of the lawmakers who have been approached.
The Texas Republican said House Speaker Kevin McCarthy would plan a separate trip to the island either later this year or next year. He said he intends to join McCarthy, whenever the Speaker does go.
The US-China relationship is already under fresh strain after Beijing flew an alleged spy balloon across the continental US and accused the Biden administration of overreacting when it shot the balloon down over the Atlantic Ocean three days ago.
China declined a US request to hold a secure call between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe immediately after the balloon was downed, according to the US Department of Defense.
China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has repeatedly said it is willing to use force to prevent its formal independence. While China objects to all visits by foreign lawmakers that could appear to legitimize Taiwan’s government, Beijing has generally tolerated trips by rank-and-file US lawmakers. In recent years, the Chinese military has stepped up incursions into the Taiwan Strait around high-profile visits by American officials.
McCarthy’s office on Tuesday declined to comment on McCaul’s trip plans, or offer any update on whether the Speaker is still planning his own visit to Taiwan.
The Chinese government last month urged the Speaker not to visit the island and “to earnestly abide by the one-China principle,” to avoid a showdown similar to the one that played out when former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited in August, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Jan. 30.
Asked to respond to those comments, McCarthy said last week at the White House: “I don’t think China can tell me where I can go, at any time, at any place.”
Last summer — as Pelosi was preparing for her trip to Taiwan — McCarthy said he would like to travel there as Speaker and take a bipartisan group of lawmakers.
Pelosi’s trip prompted the People’s Liberation Army to conduct unprecedented military drills around the island and temporarily caused China to shut down lines of communication with the US. The two sides have since resumed talks and President Joe Biden sought to ease tensions in a November meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
House Republicans have made competition with China a key feature of their agenda now that they control the chamber, and lawmakers formed a bipartisan select committee to study the matter.
The House Financial Services Committee is planning action soon on a bill introduced this week to bar Chinese officials from the US banking system if Taiwan is threatened.
McCaul has pushed the Biden administration to impose stronger export controls cutting China off from critical technologies. He was also one of the key proponents of legislation, known as the CHIPS Act, that includes $52 billion for domestic semiconductor research and development as well as provisions to make sure the chips are manufactured in the US.
McCaul pressed to ensure the measure, which Biden signed into law in August, included guardrails protecting against taxpayer dollars being used to invest and expand in China.
Senator Todd Young, an Indiana Republican who also visited Taipei in January, encouraged McCarthy and every other member of Congress to go. In an interview, he said the Chinese government told him to cancel the visit.
“The worst thing we could do is to balk,” Young said. “That would be a sign of weakness. And we need to go in the other direction.”
At least 37 US lawmakers visited Taiwan last year, by far the most in a decade, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Young was the first lawmaker to visit this year on Jan. 17.
–With assistance from Billy House and Erik Wasson.
(Updates with additional details on China, Taiwan relationship in 7th paragraph)
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