A high-ranking parliamentary delegation from Germany arrived in Taiwan on Monday ahead of an anticipated ministerial visit later this year in moves that could spark tensions with China.
The visit was a "sign of solidarity" with the self-ruled democracy, which China claims as part of its territory, said Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, chair of the parliamentary defense committee and a leader of the delegation.
The deputies from the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) — a junior partner in Germany's coalition government — would meet with "senior figures from politics, civil society and the military," Strack-Zimmermann said.