The Pentagon’s top China official has arrived in Taiwan. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Michael Chase is making the trip amid aftershocks from the downing of the Chinese balloon and three more unidentified objects.
So far, neither the United States nor Taiwan has commented on the visit.
Despite Taiwan having its own democratically-elected leaders and constitution, China has a history of opposing any official visits by foreign authorities to the island.
U.S. officials have made a number of trips to the island in recent years. In 2022, then U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taipei. In response, China staged a series of military actions encircling the island with troops as it carried out live military drills.
In 2020, the U.S. Health Secretary Alex Azar paid a visit to Taiwan to support its transparency during the COVID-19 pandemic. Beijing once again denounced the trip, calling it a U.S. attempt to interfere with the one-China policy, which is Beijing’s stance that Taiwan is part of mainland Chinese territory.
Chase is the most senior U.S. defense official to visit Taiwan since 2019. As of now, Beijing officials have yet to comment on the visit.