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Reuters
Reuters
Politics

As Chinese military exercises, US lawmaker pledges training for Taiwan

Michael McCaul, Chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, who is leading a delegation of US lawmakers visiting Taiwan, speaks during a news conference at the parliament in Taipei, Taiwan April 7, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

A senior U.S. lawmaker pledged on Saturday to help provide training for Taiwan's armed force and to speed up the delivery of weapons, as China began three days of military exercises around the island Beijing claims as its territory.

China announced the drills the day after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen returned to Taipei from Los Angeles, where she met speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy, infuriating Beijing.

Speaking at a lunch in Taipei hosted by Tsai for his bipartisan delegation, Michael McCaul, chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, said they were there in strong support of Taiwan and that it was important democracies stood together.

A Chinese warship fires towards the shore during a military drill near Fuzhou, Fujian Province, near the Taiwan-controlled Matsu Islands that are close to the Chinese coast, China, April 8, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

"As the House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, I sign off on all foreign military sales, including weapons to Taiwan, and I promise you, Madam President, we will deliver those weapons," he said.

Taiwan has since last year complained of delays to deliveries of U.S. weapons, such as Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, as manufacturers turn supplies to Ukraine to support its defence against Russia.

"We are doing everything we can in Congress to speed up these sales and get the weapons that you need to defend yourselves," McCaul, a Republican, said.

Taiwan Air Force Mirage 2000-5 aircrafts fly over before landing at Hsinchu Air Base in Hsinchu, Taiwan April 8, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

"And we will provide training to your military - not for war, but for peace," he added, without giving details. "Projecting weakness only invites aggression and conflict. Projecting strength provides deterrence and promotes peace."

While a defence pact between Taiwan and the United States ended in 1979 when Washington severed formal diplomatic ties in favour of Beijing, a close military relationship endures and the United States is Taiwan's main foreign source of arms.

The United States and has long offered some degree of training on weapon systems, as well as detailed advice on ways to strengthen its military to guard against an invasion by China's People's Liberation Army.

A Taiwan Air Force Mirage 2000-5 aircraft prepares to land at Hsinchu Air Base in Hsinchu, Taiwan April 8, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Some Taiwanese fighter pilots already train in the United States.

The United States is set to expand the number of troops helping train Taiwanese forces, two U.S. officials told Reuters in February.

Reuters reported in 2021 that a small number of U.S. special operations forces have been rotating into Taiwan on a temporary basis to train its forces.

A Taiwan Air Force Mirage 2000-5 aircraft prepares to land while another one flies over at Hsinchu Air Base in Hsinchu, Taiwan April 8, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

China describes Taiwan as the most sensitive and important issue in its relations with the United States, and the topic is a constant source of friction between Beijing and Washington.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Robert Birsel)

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