US lawmakers including John Cornyn, Mike Crapo make surprise trip to Taiwan
- Four senators and two members of the House of Representatives land in US Navy plane on trip organised by Washington’s de facto embassy in Taipei, report says
- Beijing says visit amounts to ‘rude interference in China’s internal affairs’
The group boarded a US Navy C-40A plane from Manila and arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport at around 6pm, according to Taiwanese news reports.
The presence of Cornyn and Tuberville was confirmed by two sources familiar with the trip. One of those sources, who said that six lawmakers were in the travelling group, said it also included senators Mike Crapo of Idaho and Mike Lee of Utah, as well as Representative Jake Ellzey of Texas, also all Republicans.
Beijing called the lawmakers’ trip an act of provocation and later conducted a combat readiness patrol in the region in response to what it called “gravely mistaken words and actions” by other countries concerning Taiwan.
The US Department of Defence on Tuesday confirmed the visit, with Pentagon spokesman John Kirby telling reporters in Washington that it was the second such congressional trip to the island this year. He did not offer details on who was in the delegation.