A group of American lawmakers visited Taiwan, arriving on a U.S. military plane, in a move likely to further inflame tensions between Washington and Beijing over the status of the self-governing island.
The trip was confirmed by Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, who told reporters Tuesday that the congressional delegation was transported via military aircraft and said that’s "not uncommon” for such travel. Apple Daily in Taiwan reported earlier Tuesday that senators and House members flew on a U.S. Navy C-40A jet and landed at Taipei’s Songshan Airport at 6 p.m. local time.
Taiwan remains an irritant in U.S.-China relations, even as people familiar with the plans said that U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have scheduled a virtual summit next week in the effort to manage relations between the competing world powers.