“Just landed in Taiwan to send a message to Beijing – we will not be bullied,” Blackburn tweeted. Blackburn’s solo visit was the fourth US delegation to Taiwan after Pelosi’s landmark visit, coming days after Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb and a bipartisan Japanese delegation, and just weeks after the 11-member delegation from Lithuania. Shortly before his arrival, Keiji Furuya, a member of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, tweeted: “China’s military provocations and other erratic behavior endanger the peace and security of not only Taiwan, but the East Asia as a whole”. A series of foreign officials visiting Taiwan has kept the island in the spotlight in the wake of Pelosi’s trip and continued to draw frustration from Beijing. The Taiwan government welcomed them all, grateful for international support and solidarity against the Chinese government’s threats to annex it by force. US Senator Marsha Blackburn exchanged gifts with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen Photo: AP “These warm acts of kindness and steadfast displays of support have strengthened Taiwan’s determination to defend itself,” Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said at an official meeting with Blackburn on Friday. Pelosi’s visit in early August sparked a furious reaction from Beijing, which quickly announced an unprecedented series of live-fire military exercises encircling the main island of Taiwan. It targeted Taiwan with missile tests, midline incursions by hundreds of warplanes and ships, disinformation and cyber attacks, and blockade-style disruptions of Taiwan’s ports and air traffic. Beijing’s moves have created a more hostile “new normal” in the strait, but have not deterred Taiwan or its allies.
Symbolism vs substance?
On Friday, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said the military drills “will not stop Taiwan from seeking support internationally.” “What China wants to do is to cut off Taiwan from international connections, so if one day it attacks Taiwan, there will be no support for Taiwan,” he said. But with China stepping up aggression and shifting targets to the tentative status quo in the Taiwan Strait, analysts have warned that foreign allies must quickly close the gap between these symbolic acts and the substantive support needed to truly ensure Taiwan’s security. “A lot of what’s going on is symbolic. I don’t want to suggest that it’s not important — it can have a substantial effect,” said Raymond Kuo, a political scientist at the Rand Corporation. “But in terms of Taiwan’s ability to defend itself [and] to diversify its economic ties away from China… these policies have yet to be implemented. They’re falling apart, which is a positive thing, and I think China’s action has spurred unity in Congress and support from other countries.” China’s foreign ministry accused the foreign delegations of violating the “one China” domestic policy and threatened unspecified “decisive and strong measures” in response. Analysts have debated whether the visits needlessly exacerbate tensions. But they continue. MPs from the UK, Germany, Denmark, Canada and Australia are reportedly planning trips to Taipei. A telephone survey conducted during the exercises found that 53.7 percent of Taiwanese believed that Pelosi’s visit to Taipei had benefited US-Taiwan relations, Newsweek reported. More than 64% felt that Taiwan could not defend itself against a Chinese invasion without international aid. Amanda Hsiao, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, said there will be more symbolic visits as Western politicians “increasingly see visiting Taiwan as an opportunity to signal their anti-China bona fides for domestic political reasons.” But Kuo says the fact that both sides of Congress are now largely united on Taiwan will have tangible benefits for Taiwan when it comes to passing supportive legislation. As China’s drills drew to a close, the US announced the start of bilateral trade talks with Taiwan, which Washington’s assistant secretary of state for East Asia, Daniel Kritenbrink, said would provide “an opportunity to help Taiwan to build its resilience and secure… supply chains”. . Other trade agreements have been signed on the sidelines of the visits. Wu said the trade talks were “exactly what Taiwan needs.” But he also needs more weapons. Wu is adamant that Taiwan cannot expect other nations to come to its aid if it is not prepared to defend itself. This week the Ministry of Defense announced a budget increase of almost 14%. More visits to come. This week a Canadian parliamentary “friendship group” said it planned to visit in October, prompting fresh threats from Beijing. Wu said Taiwan would not “bow to pressure” from China, and neither would foreign visitors. “We will not stop making friends just because of the Chinese threat to Taiwan,” he said. “There are more people than ever who want to come and show their support for Taiwan. I can tell you there will be more.”
