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.
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.
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.
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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, Reuters reported that the first delegation of Chinese officials since before the pandemic arrived in Taiwan on Saturday for a cultural event.
A US congressional delegation led by California Democrat Ro Khanna was also expected to arrive in Taiwan on Saturday, in a mission aimed at bolstering economic ties in areas such as semiconductor manufacturing.
Meanwhile, the White House will hold “secret talks” with Taiwan officials in Washington next week, the Financial Times reported Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter. Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and National Security Council secretary-general Wellington Koo will meet through the so-called “special channel” with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and White House Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer, according to the report.
(Adds reports of Chinese delegation to Taiwan in fifth paragraph, Taiwanese delegation to Washington in seventh paragraph)
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