Taipei, Sept. 1 (CNA) U.S. Representative Robert Wittman said that “any hostile, unprovoked attack on Taiwan will result in a resolute reaction from the United States,” during a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen (???) at the Presidential Office in Taipei Friday.
Wittman, a Republican who serves as vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, told Tsai that the U.S. would do “everything possible” to ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and it was committed to building up and projecting strength in the region.
“Strength is the best deterrence to anyone that may think there’s an opportunity to act badly in this region,” said Wittman, who arrived in Taiwan on Thursday night.
He was joined by fellow Republican representatives Carlos Gimenez and Jennifer Kiggans, both members of the House Armed Services Committee, for a trip that is part of a larger visit to the Indo-Pacific region, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a press release on Thursday.
During their stay until Sept. 2, the group will meet with other Taiwanese leaders to discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations, regional security, and trade and investment, among other issues, according to the AIT, which represents Washington’s interest in Taiwan in the absence of formal diplomatic relations.
Wittman also took note of “the incredible effort” made by Taiwan to advance its self-defense capability, mentioning, in particular, the Tsai administration’s plans to extend the country’s compulsory military service from the current four months to one year starting in 2024.
The U.S., meanwhile, is working to fill the backlog of foreign military sales to Taiwan, according to the congressman.
“I can tell you that members of the House on both sides of the aisle are focused on making sure this US$19 billion backlog in foreign military sales gets fulfilled,” he added.
Defense cooperation aside, Wittman underscored the need for Taiwan and the U.S. to continue to collaborate on trade and investment.
The bilateral ties are already “strong” and “will continue to get stronger,” Wittman said, citing their being rooted in mutual trust and benefits, and backed by U.S. lawmakers across party lines.
Meanwhile, Tsai expressed confidence that Taipei and Washington would continue to deepen their partnership in the economic sphere, given that both sides have made progress in their trade talks under a bilateral initiative.
The two governments commenced their second round of negotiations in August, two months after they inked the first part of a trade agreement under the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade.
Taiwan also looks forward to working with the U.S. and other democratic partners to jointly safeguard regional stability and prosperity in the face of authoritarian expansion, Tsai said.
The visit by Wittman’s group to Taipei followed that of another Congressional delegation led by Mike Rogers, chair of the House Armed Services Committee, in late June.
Also joining Wittman’s group at the meeting with Tsai is U.S. Republican Representative Michael Cloud, a member of the House Committee on Appropriations.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the current visit to Taiwan by Cloud and U.S. Representative Alex Mooney, who serves on the House Financial Services Committee, through a separate press release on Thursday, but did not provide any details regarding their itineraries.
