A Chinese aircraft carrier battle group entered Taiwan’s southeastern waters, according to the island’s Ministry of National Defense, ahead of president Tsai Ing-wen‘s planned meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in southern California.
(Bloomberg) — A Chinese aircraft carrier battle group entered Taiwan’s southeastern waters, according to the island’s Ministry of National Defense, ahead of president Tsai Ing-wen‘s planned meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in southern California.
It was an early sign of the “resolute measures” China has vowed in protest of the meeting between Tsai and other US lawmakers later Wednesday.
The event at the Reagan Presidential Library will be the first time a Taiwanese leader meets in the US with a House speaker, the third highest-ranking government official, since the US recognized established diplomatic relations with China more than four decades ago.
“Foreign pressure can’t deter our determination to embrace the world,” Taiwan’s military said, adding it will closely monitor the situation while refraining from inciting any conflict.
Taiwan hailed Tsai’s unprecedented meeting with McCarthy on US soil as a “rare opportunity,” even as the move risked provoking renewed military tension around the island.
In other early signs of China’s displeasure, Taiwan said on Wednesday that it detected 14 Chinese military aircraft and three navy vessels in the surrounding areas over the past 24 hours as of 6 a.m. local time, according to island’s Ministry of National Defense.
Separately, China’s large patrol and rescue vessel, the Haixun 06, led a formation of maritime enforcement ships in the north-central part of the Taiwan strait, state broadcaster China Central Television reported.
Hours later, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council protested that China is planning maritime inspections onboard Taiwan’s and China’s cargo ships crossing the Taiwan Strait, as well as passenger ships to Taiwan’s offshore islands.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Brussels Wednesday that “transits” through the US by Taiwan’s leaders are “nothing new” and that Tsai’s meetings are “in line with precedent.” He said Beijing shouldn’t use the event as an excuse to “ratchet up tensions.”
Trip’s End
Tsai is saving her most controversial meeting for the tail end of a 10-day trip that’s taken her to New York, Guatemala and Belize.
China’s threatened response to the Tsai-McCarthy meeting generated concern that Beijing may fire missiles and conduct military drills around Taiwan similar to what took place after Tsai met former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Taipei last year.
Taipei carefully planned Tsai’s itinerary in an effort to avoid triggering a strong military response from China, including by arranging to meet with McCarthy in the US rather than in Taiwan. “We seek pragmatic diplomacy in a steady manner,” said Chang Tun-han, deputy secretary general of Taiwan’s presidential office. The White House has said Tsai’s transits are private and unofficial, and China shouldn’t take it as a pretext to overreact.
See: Why Taiwan’s Status Risks Igniting a US-China Clash: QuickTake
At the meeting in the US on Wednesday, Tsai will face a difficult balancing act in seeking to engage US lawmakers while avoiding any moves that could be seen as unnecessarily provocative.
A group photo will take place at the Reagan library before participants head to a closed-door meeting. Tsai and McCarthy are expected to give public remarks at around noon local time after the meeting, and then have lunch after the event wraps up at around 1:30 p.m., according to Chang. Later that day, Tsai is expected to have a dinner banquet with overseas Taiwanese, before returning to Taiwan on Thursday.
Other than McCarthy, Chang confirmed that Tsai met with top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries on March 30 in New York. She also had a breakfast meeting with Republican senators Dan Sullivan, Joni Ernst, and Democrat Mark Kelly the following day before leaving the city, Chang said.
During those meetings, Chang said, Tsai thanked President Joe Biden and lawmakers from both parties for supporting Taiwan. Tsai said that Taiwan hoped to continue working with the US on security issues, and will keep playing the role of a responsible partner to maintain regional peace and stability with other nations, according to Chang.
Tsai also said Taiwan will continue to be a critical and reliable economic and trade partner, working with other nations to jointly build a more resilient global democratic supply chain, according to Chang.
The Taiwan president’s departure from the US will be followed Thursday by the arrival in Taipei by a bipartisan delegation of US lawmakers led by House Foreign Affairs Chairman Mike McCaul. Although such lower-level visits haven’t previously stirred strong protests from Beijing, the Chinese embassy in Washington warned members of the group that it considers the delegation’s plans a serious violation of the US’s “one-China policy.”
–With assistance from Amanda Wang, Li Liu and Xiao Zibang.
(Updates with planned cargo ship inspections, Blinken comments starting in eighth paragraph)
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