TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Mike Rogers, chair of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday (June 27) arrived in Taiwan in what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) described as "one of the largest U.S. congressional delegations" to visit the country in many years.
Rogers is leading a bipartisan congressional delegation from June 27-29, according to a MOFA press release. Also in the delegation is the ranking member of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, Adam Smith, and Representatives Joe Courtney, John Garamendi, Jill Tokuda, David Rouzer, Gary Palmer, Jim Moylan, and Cory Mill.
In a MOFA tweet posted at 10 p.m. on Tuesday, it said the delegation is "one of the largest U.S. congressional delegations to Taiwan in years!" The ministry also said this is the first time in recent years the chair and a ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee have organized a delegation to visit Taiwan.
Rogers (left) shakes hands with Jason Ma, deputy head of MOFA's Department of North American Affairs. (MOFA photo)
The delegation will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and attend a banquet hosted by Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The delegation is expected to exchange views on issues such as Taiwan-U.S. relations and the regional situation.
According to the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the delegation will meet with top Taiwanese leaders to discuss regional security, trade, and investment, and "other significant issues of mutual interest." AIT said this visit is "part of a larger visit to the Indo-Pacific region."
The ministry said Rogers has always been friendly to Taiwan and he and Smith are both members of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus. It noted that in recent years, the two congressmen and others have supported various initiatives to strengthen Taiwan-U.S. security relations.
"At a time when the global and regional situation is threatened by authoritarian expansion and China continues to try to change the status quo, the leaders of the armed services, foreign affairs, appropriations, and other committees have organized heavyweight delegations to Taiwan," MOFA said. It added that this "fully demonstrates the firm support for Taiwan across parties and their great emphasis and commitment to peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region."
The ministry closed by expressing confidence that Roger's visit will further strengthen the friendly partnership between Taiwan and the U.S., deepen the close cooperation between the two sides in various fields around the world, and enable the two countries to "jointly maintain the rules-based international order."
It’s wheels down for one of the largest #US〔錯誤字元無法儲存〕〔錯誤字元無法儲存〕 congressional delegations to #Taiwan〔錯誤字元無法儲存〕〔錯誤字元無法儲存〕 in years! The group focusing on security affairs comprises House Armed Services Committee Chair @RepMikeRogersAL, Ranking Member @RepAdamSmith & 7 other lawmakers from both sides of the aisle! pic.twitter.com/suBbazM4wG
— 外交部 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ROC (Taiwan) 〔錯誤字元無法儲存〕〔錯誤字元無法儲存〕 (@MOFA_Taiwan) June 27, 2023
