President Joe Biden has selected a delegation of five former top Pentagon officials to visit Taiwan on Tuesday as a show of support for the island.
Former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mike Mullen will lead the delegation, with former deputy national security adviser Meghan O’Sullivan along with former Undersecretary of Defense Michele Flournoy. Former senior directors for Asia on the National Security Council Mike Green and Evan Medeiros will fill out the rest of the delegation.
“The selection of these five individuals sends an important signal about the bipartisan U.S. commitment to Taiwan and its democracy, and demonstrates that the Biden administration’s broader commitment to Taiwan remains rock solid,” an unnamed administration official told Reuters.
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The delegation will land in Taiwan on Tuesday afternoon and will remain on the island until Wednesday night. They are expected to meet with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng, and other top officials.
The visit comes after China sent nine planes into Taiwan’s airspace last week, increasing tensions between the two countries while the West is focused on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Although the U.S. formally considers Taiwan a part of China, the relationship between the U.S. and Taiwan informally has been strong. The U.S. has sold weapons to Taiwan so it can defend itself should it come under attack, including fighter jets. The Taiwanese people say their government resides in Taipei, not Beijing.
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Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is also expected to visit Taiwan in a separate trip this week in which he will give a speech at a think tank and meet with the island’s foreign minister.
