Senator Marsha Blackburn landed in Taipei today, with a defiant message about China’s military aggression.
“Regular high-level visits to Taipei are long-standing U.S. policy. I will not be bullied by Communist China into turning my back on the island,” she said. Blackburn was one of many Republicans to publicly support Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan earlier this month. The Tennessee Republican is expected to meet Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen and foreign minister Joseph Wu, TVBS reported.
Beijing responded to Pelosi’s visit furiously, shooting missiles into the waters around Taiwan and kicking off a series of military exercises. But that has evidently not deterred further such delegations from making the trip. A bipartisan group led by Senator Ed Markey was in Taiwan from August 14 to 15.
In addition, a group from Lithuania traveled to the island country. Groups of lawmakers from Japan and the U.K. are expected to visit in the near future.
Blackburn made the stop following a swing through various Pacific island countries, including Fiji, the Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea. In a statement released just ahead of her arrival in Taipei, she didn’t mention her plans to visit Taiwan but did emphasize the importance of continued U.S. ties with countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
“The Indo-Pacific region is the next frontier for the New Axis of Evil,” said Blackburn. “Meeting with leaders from Fiji, the Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea was an important step in showcasing America’s commitment to the region and expanding our strategic relationships.”
Blackburn’s visit to the Solomon Islands, where she met Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, is particularly interesting given the country’s highly visible pivot toward China. After Sogavare’s election in 2019, the Solomon Islands severed its diplomatic relationship with Taiwan and instead established ties with China. In the years since, it has inked a massively controversial security pact with China, which might have granted Beijing the ability to station personnel in the country.
Reflecting the new urgency with which Washington views the Solomon Islands’ pivot, the Biden administration sent a high-level delegation to the country this spring, pledging to speed up the opening of an embassy there.
Earlier this month, Blackburn partnered with a few of her Democratic colleagues on legislation that would encourage the opening of embassies in Vanuatu, Kiribati, and Tonga. Her Pacific island swing is part of that push.