Taiwan City skyline
Taiwan City skylineiStock

A delegation of American lawmakers arrived in Taiwan on Sunday, just 12 days after a visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that angered China, The Associated Press reported.

The five-member delegation, led by Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, will meet President Tsai Ing-wen and other officials, as well as members of the private sector, to discuss shared interests including reducing tensions in the Taiwan Strait and investments in semiconductors.

China responded to Pelosi’s August 2 visit by sending missiles, warships and warplanes into the seas and skies around Taiwan for several days afterward. The Chinese government objects to Taiwan having any official contact with foreign governments, particularly with a high-ranking congressional leader like Pelosi.

Last week, Taiwan held live fire artillery exercises that simulated an attack on the island in the wake of the Chinese military drills undertaken following Pelosi’s visit.

Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu accused China of using military drills as a preparation for invasion on Tuesday, with the drills being the biggest air and sea military exercises ever conducted by China near Taiwan.

The other members of the US delegation visiting Taiwan are Republican Rep. Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, a delegate from American Samoa, and Democratic House members John Garamendi and Alan Lowenthal from California and Don Beyer from Virginia.

Chinese warplanes have continued crossing the midpoint of the Taiwan Strait on a daily basis even after the conclusion of the military exercises last Wednesday, with at least 10 doing so on Sunday, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said, according to AP.

The 10 fighter jets were among 22 Chinese military aircraft and six naval ships detected in the area around Taiwan by 5 p.m. on Sunday, the ministry said on its Twitter account.

A senior White House official on Asia policy said late last week that China had used Pelosi's visit as a pretext to launch an intensified pressure campaign against Taiwan, jeopardizing peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the broader region.