Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen met the speaker of the United States House of Representatives, McCarthy, on Wednesday (local time) in California, The New York Post reported.
Notably, this is the first time when Taiwan’s President met with a US House speaker on American soil. Both leaders briefly shook the hands after her SUV pulled up to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, northwest of Los Angeles.
Taiwan’s President met McCarthy despite the threats of retaliation from China. Washington’s current “One China” policy acknowledges Beijing’s claims but does not endorse it, according to The New York Post.
After the meeting, Carthy tweeted, “The friendship between America and the people of Taiwan has never been stronger. It is my honor to welcome President @iingwen to the @Reagan_Library.”
“Taiwan is a successful democracy, thriving economy, and global leader in health and science. Our cooperation continues to expand through dialogue and exchange,” he added.
In response to McCarthy’s gesture, Tsai said, “Thank you @SpeakerMcCarthy for the warm welcome. It’s a pleasure to be back at the @Reagan_Library & enjoying the #California sunshine as we work to strengthen the bond between #Taiwan & the #US.”
Wednesday’s meeting is the second time in eight months Tsai has met with a speaker of the House after McCarthy’s predecessor, Nancy Pelosi, visited the island in August, The New York Post reported.
The meeting between the two leaders is seen as something China extremely disapproves of and has repeatedly shown opposition to.
Ahead of their meeting, China dispatched several maritime vessels near Taiwan’s coast. On Wednesday night local time, Beijing sent a “large scale patrol and rescue vessel” to the central and northern Taiwan Strait for a three-day “joint patrol and inspection” operation, China’s Fujian Maritime Safety Administration said in a statement.
The Defense Department has not sent any additional assets to the Indo-Pacific region in preparation for any aggressive response by China, a Pentagon spokesperson told reporters Wednesday, according to CNN.
Earlier in March, the US State Department said that China has ‘overreacted’ to Taiwan President Tsai’s visit to the US.
US Department of State Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said that the transits of the Taiwan President are consistent with the longstanding policy of Washington.
The statement of Vedant Patel comes after the Chinese spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said that China firmly opposes Tsai Ing-wen’s planned “transit” visit to the US to meet US officials and will take resolute countermeasures in such an event, CGTN reported. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday embarked on a 10-day visit to Central America, which will include transit in the US, CNN reported.