Representative Mike Rogers, R-Ala., speaks on the House Republican Press Conference on U.S. Troop Withdrawal from Afghanistan on the Rayburn Room of the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021.
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WASHINGTON — A bipartisan Congressional delegation led by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers landed in Taiwan on Tuesday for a three-day visit, In accordance with to the American Institute in Taiwan.
The Republican from Alabama was accompanied on the trip by several committee members, including his senior member, Adam Smith, D-Wash., as well as several committee members and other lawmakers.
In accordance with the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the delegation will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday.
The visit comes at a fragile time for America’s relationship with China, its largest trading partner and strategic competitor in the political, economic and security arenas.
Taiwan is at the middle of Washington’s broader efforts to contain China’s military and diplomatic expansion across the Indo-Pacific region. Taiwan is a self-governing democracy, but China sees Taiwan as a province on the Chinese mainland. Beijing considers any attempt by Taiwan’s leadership to act independently of Beijing as a threat to Chinese sovereignty.
Who’s on the congressional delegation to Taiwan
- Representative Mike Rogers, R-Ala., Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee
- Representative Adam Smith, D-Wash., Senior Member of the House Armed Services Committee
- Representative Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii
- Representative Cory Mills, R-Fla.
- Representative John Garamendi, D-Calif.
- Representative Joe Courtney, D-Conn.
- Representative David Rouzer, RN.C.
- Representative Gary Palmer, R-Ala.
- James Moylan, Republican, Guam’s delegate to the House
Rogers’ trip to Taiwan marks not less than the third time this 12 months that members of Congress have made public trips to the island, but Rogers has done so for the primary time.
The incontrovertible fact that Rogers chairs the committee accountable for funding and overseeing the US military is unlikely to be lost in Beijing or Taipei.
A spokeswoman for the House Armed Services Committee declined to comment on the trip.
Congressional visits to geopolitically sensitive areas such as Taiwan are often kept secret until the delegation arrives, and any public comment on the trip is generally reserved until after the trip is complete.
Rogers’ visit to Taipei comes as the Biden administration takes several steps to stabilize bilateral relations with China, which hit their lowest point in February after the US downed a Chinese surveillance balloon.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Beijing in June, a visit originally scheduled for February but postponed in response to spy balloon pollination.
At this point, “the connection was volatile and each side recognized the necessity to work to stabilize it,” Blinken told a news conference at the tip of his June visit.
“My hope and expectation is that we’ll have higher communication, higher engagement in the longer term,” he added.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen plans to visit China in July, Bloomberg News reported this week. The Treasury Department declined to comment on her travel plans.
But while visits by senior Biden administration officials to China can assist normalize US-China relations, visits such as Rogers’ delegation to Taiwan are likely to have the alternative effect.
Anti-China sentiment is far more evident on Capitol Hill, where it’s considered one of the few issues where each side agree, than in the White House, where U.S. business interests and the necessity to avoid armed conflict are priorities.
Beijing has yet to comment on the trip. A spokeswoman for the National Security Council didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment on the congressional visit.