Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said 12 Chinese aircraft and five ships were detected near the island on Sunday, including five planes that crossed the Taiwan Strait line.
Beijing, which considers the territory a rebel province, has been carrying out military exercises in the region since the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in early August.
She wasn’t the only one. Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb arrived in Taipei on Sunday, becoming the last American official to visit Taipei, in defiance of China, which sees the moves as violations of its sovereignty. Last week, a second delegation of US congressmen visited the island.
The Republican, who on Twitter said he will also visit South Korea, is expected to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen on Monday morning (22), according to the Taiwanese government. Holcomb called the visit to the countries an “economic development trip” and highlighted the fact that he was the first US governor to go to Taiwan since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in late 2019.
“Our delegation will spend the week meeting with officials, business leaders and academic institutions to further strengthen Indiana’s economic, academic and cultural connections with Taiwan and South Korea,” he wrote. There was no immediate response from China to the Republican’s arrival.
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said Holcomb was also expected to meet with representatives of Taiwanese semiconductor companies. The island is home to the world’s largest chip maker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd. (TSMC), which is building an estimated $12 billion plant in the US state of Arizona.
China says Taiwan is the most important and sensitive issue in its relationship with Washington and considers everything related to the island an internal issue. Taipei, meanwhile, says that China has no right to claim the territory and that only its 23 million people can decide its own future.
