TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Monday evening (Feb. 28) welcomed the news that the Biden administration is sending a delegation of former top U.S. defense officials to Taipei the following day.

The delegation will be led by former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen, who will be accompanied by Meghan O'Sullivan, a former deputy national security advisor under President George W. Bush; and Michele Flournoy, a former undersecretary of defense under President Barrack Obama, reported Reuters. Also taking part in the visit are former National Security Council senior directors for Asia Mike Green and Evan Medeiros.

The group is slated to land in Taiwan on Tuesday afternoon (March 1) and depart Wednesday afternoon (March 2). The visit comes as Taiwan is at a heightened level of alert over concerns China could exploit the distraction caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and take aggressive action in the Taiwan Strait.

In response to the news of the visit by the former senior defense officials, MOFA issued a statement saying it "extends a warm welcome to the important delegation led by the former Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen to visit Taiwan."