China Threatens U.S. after More Lawmakers Travel to Taiwan in Surprise Visit

China announced more military drills around Taiwan and a CCP spokesperson threatened to “take resolute and strong measures” on Monday after a second American delegation set foot on the island Sunday, weeks after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The delegation was led by Massachusetts Democratic Senator Ed Markey, and included Democratic Representatives John Garamendi and Alan Lowenthal of California, Don Beyer of Virginia, and Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen of American Samoa, according to the American Institute of Taiwan. The trip was unannounced and the lawmakers are set to leave the island on Monday.

The Democrats met “with senior Taiwan leaders to discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade and investment, global supply chains, climate change, and other significant issues of mutual interest,” the institute said in a press release.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin responded to the delegation’s visit, saying, “China will take resolute and strong measures to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Associating themselves with the separatists in Taiwan and attempting to challenge the one-China principle is a misjudgment and will get these small number of US politicians nowhere.”

China also launched military drills around Taiwan, with 30 warplanes and five vessels detected near the Taiwan Straight on Monday, according to CNN.

The military exercises are “a solemn response to political plays by the US and Taiwan that are undermining the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait,” Senior Col. Shi Yi of the Eastern Theater Command said, according to the outlet. “We will take all necessary measures and resolutely defend national sovereignty and the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait.”

China sent repeated threats and launched a host of military drills when Pelosi traveled to Taiwan, becoming the highest-ranking official to visit the island since then-speaker Newt Gingrich in 1997. She said her visit “honors America’s unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan’s vibrant Democracy.”

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Pelosi’s decision to travel to the island despite the warnings, threatening that “those who play with fire will perish by it.”

President Joe Biden told Chinese president Xi Jinping that the U.S. firmly stands behind its “One China Policy,” but China saw Pelosi’s trip as undermining the agreement, with its foreign ministry saying the U.S. is trying to use “Taiwan to contain China.”

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