A coalition of Republican senators released a statement Tuesday praising House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) visit to Taiwan, underscoring Washington’s bipartisan support for the democratic island in the face of mounting Chinese threats.
The statement, issued by 26 GOP senators, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), came just minutes after Pelosi’s plane landed in Taiwan’s capital.
NANCY PELOSI LANDS IN TAIWAN FOR HISTORIC VISIT, PLEDGING ‘UNWAVERING COMMITMENT’ TO DEMOCRACY
The senators declared their “support” for Pelosi’s trip, noting that Taiwan has been a frequent travel destination for members of Congress in the past as legislators sought to affirm U.S. support for a self-governing island that China claims as its territory. They also rejected Chinese claims that the visit violated the long-standing “One China” policy governing U.S.-Taiwan relations, arguing that the speaker’s travel was “consistent” with that policy and promising that they remained “committed” to provisions of the Taiwan Relations Act.
Enacted in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter, the Taiwan Relations Act provides U.S. support and military assistance to Taiwan but does not recognize the island as a sovereign nation. The law is designed to preserve the status quo in Taiwan by discouraging attempts by the island to declare independence unilaterally while acknowledging any Chinese aggression against Taiwan as a “threat” and a matter of “grave concern” for the United States.
Other notable signatories of the statement include Sen. John Thune (R-SD), the GOP whip; Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; and Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
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Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday at 10:43 p.m. local time. The highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the island since House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s 1997 trip, her arrival was met with furious condemnation by China’s foreign ministry and stepped-up Chinese military exercises in the region. Chinese state media also reported that Chinese fighter jets had crossed the Taiwan Strait and flown into Taiwanese airspace.
Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan is part of a broader tour of Asia that she began late last week, along with a small delegation of Democratic members of Congress. Before flying to Taiwan, Pelosi was in Singapore and Malaysia, and she is expected to make additional stops in South Korea and Japan.
