The chairman of the House Select Committee on China said Saturday the U.S. must take seriously the threat posed to Taiwan, as Beijing launched military drills around the island in the aftermath of the Taiwanese president's meetings with American lawmakers.
Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., who attended the meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen in California last week, told The Associated Press that he plans to lead his committee in working to shore up the island government's defences, encouraging Congress to expedite military aid to Taiwan.
China conducted drills with warships and dozens of fighter jets around Taiwan on Saturday, the Taiwanese government said, in what was viewed as retaliation for the meeting between the U.S. lawmakers and the president of the self-ruled island democracy claimed by Beijing as part of its territory. While both McCarthy and Tsai spoke in measured remarks after the meeting about maintaining the status quo between their countries, which have no formal diplomatic ties, the daylong meeting enraged China.
The U.S. acknowledges a "one China" policy in which Beijing lays claim to Taiwan, but it does not endorse China's claim to the island and remains Taiwan's key provider of military and defence assistance. China had warned U.S. lawmakers not to join the meeting with Tsai, Gallagher said. And after the meeting, China urged the U.S. off what it called a "wrong and dangerous road"
Gallagher said he wants Congress to work on stepping up its military commitments to Taiwan. He said the U.S. should be more quickly sending weapon systems to Taiwan for its defence.
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