Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., speaks through the House Republicans press conference on the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan within the Rayburn Room within the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, August 31, 2021.
Bill Clark | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan congressional delegation led by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers landed in Taiwan on Tuesday for a 3 day visit, according to the American Institute in Taiwan.
The Alabama Republican was joined on the trip by several members of the committee, including its rating member, Adam Smith, D-Wash., in addition to several committee members and other lawmakers.
The delegation will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday, based on the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The visit comes at a sensitive time for America’s relationship with China, its largest trading partner and strategic competitor in political, economic and security arenas.
Taiwan is at the middle of a broader effort by Washington to contain China’s military and diplomatic expansion throughout the Indo-Pacific. Taiwan is a self-ruling democracy, but China views Taiwan as a province of the Chinese mainland. Beijing considers any attempt by Taiwan’s leaders to act independently of Beijing as a threat to Chinese sovereignty.
Who’s within the congressional delegation to Taiwan
- Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee
- Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., rating member of the House Armed Services Committee
- Rep. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii
- Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla.
- Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif.
- Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn.
- Rep. David Rouzer, R-N.C.
- Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala.
- James Moylan, Republican, Guam’s delegate to the House
Rogers’ trip to Taiwan marks a minimum of the third time this yr that members of Congress have made public trips to the island, but the primary time Rogers has done so.
The proven fact that Rogers chairs the committee charged with funding and oversight of the U.S. military likely won’t be lost on Beijing or Taipei.
A spokeswoman for the House Armed Services Commitee declined to comment on the trip.
Congressional visits to geopolitically sensitive areas like Taiwan are typically kept under wraps until the delegation arrives, and any public comments in regards to the trip are frequently reserved until after it’s over.
Rogers’ visit to Taipei comes because the Biden administration is taking several steps geared toward stabilizing the bilateral relationship with China, which reached a low point in February, after the USA shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Beijing in June, a visit that was originally scheduled for February, but postponed in response to the spy balloon dustup.
At that time, “the connection was at some extent of instability, and either side recognized the necessity to work to stabilize it,” Blinken said at a news conference at the top of his June visit.
“My hope and expectation is: we may have higher communications, higher engagement going forward,” he added.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reportedly plans to go to 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 may help normalize the U.S.-China relationship, visits like Rogers’ delegation to Taiwan are likely to have the other effect.
Anti-China sentiment is much more visible on Capitol Hill, where it’s certainly one of the few issues on which each parties agree, than it’s within the White House, where U.S. trade interests and the necessity to avoid military conflict are higher priorities.
Beijing has not yet commented on the trip. A spokeswoman for the National Security Council didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment on the congressional visit.
