China criticizes US senators’ Taiwan visit, calls it a threat to sovereignty

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A visit by a pair of U.S. senators to Taiwan has drawn criticism from China, which claims the island as its own and objects to any contact between officials of the two sides.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican, and Nebraska Republican Deb Fischer arrived in Taipei on Friday for a series of high-level meetings with senior Taiwan leaders to discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade and investment, according to the American Institute in Taiwan, which acts as Washington’s de facto embassy in lieu of formal diplomatic relations with the self-governing island democracy.

Upon arrival, Wicker said: “A thriving democracy is never fully assured … and we’re here to talk to our friends and allies in Taiwan about what we’re doing to enhance worldwide peace.”

“At a time of global unrest, it is extremely significant for us to be here,” Fischer added, noting that discussions would include “security, opportunities and progress for this part of the world.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun protested the visit, saying it “undermines China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and sends a gravely wrong signal to the separatist Taiwan independence forces.”

The pair’s two-day visit to Taiwan follows stops in Hawaii, Guam, Tinian, Pala and the Philippines.

The U.S. is Taiwan’s largest supplier of arms. It provides the island with the latest generation tanks, air defense missiles and upgraded F-16 jet fighters as part of its guarantee of security against Beijing’s threat to invade.

China considers the American supply of arms to Taiwan a violation of commitments made to it by previous U.S. administrations.

Following a meeting with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, Fischer said China’s ruling Communist Party “continues to threaten, to pressure, and attempt to isolate Taiwan. These actions are unacceptable. The people of Taiwan have earned their place as a respected and indispensable part of our global economy.”

“The United States recognizes the weight of Taiwan’s challenges. We also recognize that the world is more dangerous today than at any point since World War II,” he said. “It requires us, both in Washington and in Taipei, to invest wisely. To strengthen deterrence, and to ensure that our defenses are prepared for the threats of tomorrow,” Fischer said.

Wicker said China stood alongside Russia, North Korea and Iran in wielding an “excess of aggression.”

“And they’re working together as never before to challenge those democracies, such as the United States and Taiwan and others who believe in freedom and elections that matter and self-determination,” Wicker added.