Indiana governor Eric Holcomb is leading a U.S. delegation in Taiwan this week, less than three weeks after a visit by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi angered Chinese authorities and sparked debate over the extent to which the U.S. should intervene to protect Taiwan in the event of a Chinese incursion into its territory.
Pelosi’s visit inflamed tensions with China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory. Her trip made her the highest-ranking American official to visit Taiwan in 25 years.
China views trips by foreign government officials to Taiwan as an acknowledgment of the island’s sovereignty and warned that the trip would have an “egregious political impact.” It performed live-fire military exercises in the Taiwan Strait after Pelosi’s departure.
The Republican governor’s visit comes one week after Senator Ed Markey led a trip of five U.S. lawmakers to Taiwan.
Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen told Holcomb on Monday that the island wants to ensure its partners have a reliable supplies of semiconductors, suggesting that China’s threats mean fellow democracies must cooperate.
“Taiwan has been confronted by military threats from China, in and around the Taiwan Strait,” asserted Tsai during her meeting with Holcomb, according to Reuters.
“At this moment, democratic allies must stand together and boost cooperation across all areas,” she added.
Holcomb and Indiana’s commerce secretary are on an “economic development trip” in Taiwan and South Korea. The trip comes after the passage of the federal CHIPS Act, as well as the announcement that a Taiwan-based semiconductor company, MediaTek, will open a design center in Indiana, Holcomb’s office said.