Beijing angered by US Air Force plane’s short stop in Taiwan as de facto ambassadors change over

As director of the American Institute in Taiwan Brent Christensen leaves and Sandra Oudkirk arrives, Beijing lets its anger be known

Observers say the openness of the 30-minute ‘touch-and-go’ visit was a sign of deepening US-Taiwan relations

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A US Air Force C-146A Wolfhound landed on Taiwan on Thursday just days after Sandra Oudkirk arrived to take up a position as director of the American Institute in Taiwan once she has completed quarantine requirements. Photo: Handout

Published: 8:46pm, 15 Jul 2021Updated: 8:30am, 16 Jul 2021

The United States has sent a military plane to Taipei on an apparent courier mission to aid the changeover of personnel, a fresh sign of a deepening relationship with the self-ruled island despite a warning from Beijing, which claims sovereignty of Taiwan.

The American stopover on Thursday came as the former US de facto ambassador Brent Christensen finished a three-year term and left the island. During that time, US-Taiwan relations were elevated to their highest point since Washington switched its diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taipei in 1979.

Former US deputy assistant secretary of state for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, Sandra Oudkirk, accepted the position of director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) – the de facto US embassy to Taipei – succeeding Christensen who returned to the US on Thursday.

The US Air Force’s C-146A Wolfhound landed at Taipei Songshan Airport in the island’s capital city for about 30 minutes on Thursday morning, according to airport officials.

Both AIT and Taiwan’s foreign ministry declined to comment on the arrival of the US transport plane. Taiwan’s air force said it had not handled the arrival of the US plane and had only learned of the flight after it landed at Taipei airport.

Local news media said the plane, which took off from the US Kadena Air Base in Japan’s Okinawa, made a delivery to AIT to help Oudkirk assume the post at the de facto embassy.

Oudkirk, who arrived in Taiwan on Monday, will report for duty after completing 14 days of quarantine and seven days of self-health management in line with the island’s Covid-19 prevention measures, AIT said in a statement on Thursday.