As a US delegation visits Taiwan, China sends fighter aircrafts

On Monday, as a US congressional delegation was on a surprise visit to Taiwan, China’s 30 warplanes launched incursions into the island nation’s air defence identification zone, or ADIZ.

According to CNN, a US delegation led by Illinois Democrat Senator Tammy Duckworth arrived in Taipei on Monday for an unannounced visit, according to Taiwan’s foreign ministry.

30 Chinese warplanes flew into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, or ADIZ, according to the Ministry of National Defense, the highest daily amount in more than four months.

The Taiwanese military responded by issuing radio alerts and deploying air defense missile systems to monitor the activity, according to the ministry.

According to presidential spokesperson Xavier Chang, the team will meet with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday to discuss “regional security, economic and trade cooperation, and all topics connected to US-Taiwan bilateral relations.”

Before departing on Wednesday, the team will meet with Premier Su Tseng-chang and Economic Affairs Minister Wang Mei-hua, according to CNN.

The visit comes after President Joe Biden’s first tour to Asia, which revived debate about the United States’ diplomatic position toward Taiwan and mainland China.

Biden indicated earlier this month during a news conference in Tokyo that if China attempted to take Taiwan by force, the US would intervene militarily.

The warning appeared to depart from Washington’s usual purposeful ambiguity, but the White House soon downplayed the remarks, claiming they don’t indicate a shift in US policy, according to CNN.

The US recognises China’s position that Taiwan is a part of China under the ‘One China’ policy, but it has never officially accepted Beijing’s claim to the self-governing island of 23 million people.

The US provides Taiwan with defensive weapons but has purposefully avoided saying whether it would intervene militarily if China attacked.