Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, reasserted Friday the U.S.'s commitment to helping Taiwan defend itself.
McCaul is part of a bipartisan, eight-person congressional delegation that arrived in Taiwan on Thursday for a three-day visit. The delegation visited the Legislative Yuan, the country's bicameral legislature, in Taipei on Friday, and it is expected to meet with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Saturday. Tsai just returned from a 10-day overseas trip, during which she met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in California on Wednesday.
"When we project strength, we get peace. If we project weakness, we invite aggression and war," McCaul said, according to the Taipei Times. He added the U.S. wants to do "everything in our power" to stand with Taiwan and to project strength to China by delivering arms sales to Taiwan and holding joint training exercises.
The delegation also includes Young Kim, R-Calif., chair of the Subcommittee on the Indo-Pacific; French Hill, R-Ark.; Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa.; Michael Lawler, R-N.Y.; Nathaniel Moran, R-Texas; Ami Bera, D-Calif., ranking member of the Subcommittee on the Indo-Pacific; and Madeleine Dean, D-Pa. All but Reschenthaler are members of the Foreign Affairs Committee.
"This is a powerful testimony to the ever-growing Taiwan-U.S. relationship and holds great significance," Legislative Speaker You Si-kun told a news conference after the visit, according to the Taipei Times.
McCaul said the delegation demonstrates Washington's "strong support for Taiwan."
It was the first time a delegation from the House Foreign Affairs Committee visited the Legislative Yuan since 1979, when diplomatic relations between the countries officially ended, Liberty Times Net reported. The U.S. has maintained since then a "One China" policy, acknowledging Beijing's position that Taiwan is a part of the People's Republic of China (PRC), and unofficially has maintained it will help Taiwan defend itself if attacked by the PRC.
The PRC harshly criticizes any political contact between the U.S. and Taiwan, in some cases deploying its military in the Taiwan Strait as a show of strength. After former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., visited Taiwan last year, China performed live-fire military exercises, missile launches, and a mock blockade of Taiwan.
McCaul urged Beijing to refrain from conducting military drills in the Taiwan Strait after his visit because it would "only make us more determined than ever to stand with Taiwan."
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