Taiwan President Tsai says Taiwan bolstering military ties with US

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said the Taiwanese government was boosting its military ties with the United States. Tsai said Taipei intends to cooperate with governments which are deemed friendly to the island in dealing with “authoritarian expansionism.”

Tsai met with a bipartisan delegation of US lawmakers that visited the island on Sunday, including Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna and Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales. During the meeting, Tsai said Taipei was bolstering its military ties with Washington, which have already deepened as China, which claims Taiwan as its territory, increased its military activity close to the island. China has also not ruled out using military force to capture the island.

While the US has no formal diplomatic ties with the democratically-governed island, it is Taiwan’s major arms supplier. The visit of the lawmakers follows the recent visit by a Pentagon official to the island. Taiwan has strong bipartisan support from a very divided US Congress.

“Taiwan and the United States continue to bolster military exchanges and going forward, Taiwan will cooperate even more actively with the United States and other democratic partners to confront such global challenges as authoritarian expansionism and climate change,” Tsai told the lawmakers in her office.

“Our efforts to come here are in no way provocative of China, but consistent with the president’s foreign policy that recognizes the importance of the relationship like Taiwan, while still seeking ultimately, peace in the region,” Khanna said on Monday.

Tensions between China and the United States flared in recent weeks due to the Chinese spy balloon spotted making an incursion into US airspace earlier this month. This led to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken cancelling a planned trip to Beijing amidst outrage in Washington.

Over the weekend, Paraguay President Mario Abdo sought to assure Taiwan that the country will not attempt to end relations with the island following the elections that will take place in April, which could see the end of formal ties. Paraguay is one of the few countries that still maintain formal diplomatic ties with the island. Beijing has increased its efforts to get the 14 remaining countries to end formal diplomatic relations with the island.

Abdo told reporters in Taipei that Paraguay has only known to have formal relations with the island and that this was not a major state issue in the upcoming election. Abdo added that what may be said on the campaign trail may not translate into policies while in office.