The Pentagon’s top China official has arrived in Taiwan, Reuters reported, amid heightened tensions in the region after the US shot down a balloon it said Beijing was using for spying.
(Bloomberg) — The Pentagon’s top China official has arrived in Taiwan, Reuters reported, amid heightened tensions in the region after the US shot down a balloon it said Beijing was using for spying.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry and the Pentagon declined to comment on the trip, according to the report, which cited two sources speaking on Friday, whom it didn’t identify.
The visit by Michael Chase, deputy assistant secretary of defense for China, would mark the first known trip to Taiwan by a senior US defense official since 2019. It comes amid a heated standoff between Washington and Beijing over the balloon incident, with the nations exchanging sanctions on some aerospace-related companies.
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China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory, vehemently opposes official visits to Taipei by governments it has diplomatic ties with, often sending warplanes around the democratically run island in a show of displeasure.
Separately, a US congressional delegation led by California Democrat Ro Khanna is also expected to arrive in Taiwan on Saturday. That trip is aimed at bolstering economic ties in areas such as semiconductor manufacturing.
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