U.S. Delegation in Taiwan as Secretary of State Antony Blinken Heads to China
A bipartisan U.S. delegation has arrived in Taiwan just as the Senate has passed a US$95 billion aid package that includes US$8 billion for the Indo-Pacific region. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has also begun a visit to China.
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00:00 A U.S. congressional delegation is in Taiwan for high-level talks just as the Senate passes
00:05 a landmark aid bill including support for allies in the Indo-Pacific region dealing
00:10 with Chinese aggression and at the same time the U.S. Secretary of State is visiting China.
00:14 Our reporter Rhys Ayres is following this for us live here in Taipei.
00:18 Rhys, what's the significance of the delegation's visit and of the aid bill?
00:22 Well this is a bipartisan delegation of U.S. congressional members.
00:26 They arrived into Taiwan on Tuesday.
00:29 They've already met with President Tsai Ing-wen and Vice President, President-elect Lai Ching-de.
00:35 The delegation is expected to discuss topics including Taiwan-U.S. relations, cross-strait
00:40 relations and more general regional security and also just to kind of deepen that already
00:45 solid albeit unofficial diplomatic relationship.
00:50 The visit also coincides with that massive $95 billion U.S. dollar bill aid package that
00:56 passed the U.S. Senate with overwhelming support.
01:00 Now that package includes several bills, some providing financial aid to Ukraine and to
01:05 Israel and one that could see the social media platform TikTok banned across the states.
01:12 But most notably for Taiwan, $8 billion U.S. dollars will go towards supporting allies
01:18 in the Indo-Pacific region facing Chinese aggression.
01:22 China's Taiwan Affairs Office has responded saying they quote "resolutely oppose the inclusion
01:28 of Taiwan-related content in the relevant bill" and that they quote "urge the U.S. to
01:33 fulfill its commitment not to support Taiwan independence."
01:38 Now tensions in the region remain high as China continues asserting its claims over
01:43 the South China Sea and maintains its stance on unification with Taiwan.
01:48 China claims Taiwan as part of its own territory and says it will take it with force if necessary.