Originally published by Gatestone Institute
Commentary
“Wrong signals.”
That is what the Eastern Theater Command of China’s People’s Liberation Army said on April 15, referring to Washington’s encouragement of Taiwan. That day, the Chinese military sent fighter and bomber aircraft as well as frigates near the island republic.
China’s exercises, said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian, were “a countermeasure to the U.S. negative actions recently, including the lawmakers’ visit to Taiwan.” Beijing, he said, would “continue to take strong measures to resolutely safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
As he spoke, six American lawmakers, led by Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican, and Robert Menendez, the New Jersey Democrat chairing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, met with Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and other senior officials of the self-governing island. They arrived on a U.S. Air Force plane, a not-so-subtle signal to Beijing. The two-day visit was unannounced, “sneaky” in the words of China’s Defense Ministry.
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