US senator makes unannounced Taiwan trip, the latest of several by congressional legislators
Another US lawmaker has arrived in Taiwan, the fourth such trip by an American politician this month amid increased tensions with Beijing.
Senator Marsha Blackburn, Republican of Tennessee, and her aides landed aboard a US Army plane at Taipei's Songshan Airport close to midnight on Thursday.
The Presidential Office in Taipei said in a late-night statement that Blackburn would meet President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday.
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During her visit, an previously unannounced three-day stay, she is also to meet Wellington Koo, secretary general of Taiwan's National Security Council, and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, the foreign ministry said in a statement after her arrival.
Calling her a friend of Taiwan who had sponsored a number of US bills beneficial to the island, the ministry said the visit by yet another US lawmaker at a time of rising tensions in the region indicated firm US support and commitment for Taiwan.
"We believe her visit this time would help promote US-Taiwan relations in all areas continuously, thereby deepening solid partnership between the two sides," it said.
Blackburn, a senator since 2019, sits on the Senate's armed services committee.
Blackburn's visit came on the heels of one by Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, whose four-day trip ended on Wednesday.
It also followed a congressional delegation led by Senator Ed Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, on August 15 and one on August 2 led by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Beijing, which claims sovereignty of Taiwan and vows to eventually reunite it with the mainland - by force if necessary - has protested each visit by US legislators.
It was particularly enraged by Pelosi's visit; the House speaker defied repeated warnings from mainland authorities about travelling to Taipei.
Beijing said it regarded her trip, which made her the highest-ranking US official to visit Taiwan in 25 years, as a provocation and violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
In retaliation, Beijing conducted more than a week of military exercises around Taiwan soon after Pelosi left the island, sending warplanes and warships across the median line in the Taiwan Strait.
The People's Liberation Army also fired ballistic missiles across the island.
Pelosi said that Beijing had used her trip as a pretext for the military exercises.
In an article on Wednesday, Xinhua said that visits by US lawmakers to Taiwan were a violation of the one-China principle.
"Congress members' visits to Taiwan run counter to the US political commitment of maintaining only unofficial relations with Taiwan, and violate the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques," the article read.
"The US government is responsible for making sure its political commitments to China are honoured and executed by all parts of the government."
Most countries do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state but many, including the United States and its Western allies, oppose any attempts to take the island by force.
Blackburn's visit is expected to draw fire from Beijing, which has been annoyed by her harsh criticism of mainland authorities, including a December 2020 Twitter post that said "China has a 5,000-year history of cheating and stealing. Some things will never change...."
A staunch supporter of former US president Donald Trump, she backed most of his policies and proposals, including those against Beijing.
In July, she joined Representative Michelle Steel, Republican of California, in introducing legislation to lease weapons to Taiwan.
The PLA has announced it will begin two days of live-fire military drills from Friday along the coast of Fujian province, close to the Matsu islands, a Taiwan-controlled archipelago.
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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