Biden Dispatches A Delegation Of Former Top Defence Officials To Taiwan In A Show Of Support Amid Fears Of Chinese Expansionist Moves

Signalling solidarity with Taiwan amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, U.S President Joe Biden has dispatched a delegation comprising former senior defense and security officials to Taiwan.

The visit, led by the one-time chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen, comes as Taiwan has stepped up its vigil over fears that China could take advantage of the geopolitical situation with the U.S and EU currently focused on the situation unfolding in Ukraine.

The delegation includes Meghan O'Sullivan, a former deputy national security advisor under President George W. Bush, and Michele Flournoy, a former undersecretary of defense under President Barack Obama. Two former National Security Council senior directors for Asia, Mike Green and Evan Medeiros, also will travel as part of the delegation.

The delegation will arrive in Taiwan on Tuesday (March 1) for a two-day visit. They are scheduled to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday.

The visit of an unofficial delegation of former American security officials to Taiwan is meant to emphasize the United States' desire to maintain peace and stability in the region, White House Indo-Pacific policy coordinator Kurt Campbell said on Monday (Feb 28).

Addressing an online event organized by the U.S. think tank The German Marshall Fund on U.S.-Europe cooperation in Asia, Campbell said the U.S. government will show its determination in the coming months to sustain high-level engagement in the Indo-Pacific region.

"You will see a whole range of activities across the board," Campbell said when asked whether the economic solidarity displayed by the West in response to the Ukraine conflict could lead to more economic initiatives by the U.S. in the Indo-Pacific region.

The latest visit by a team of former U.S officials comes less than one year after Biden sent a delegation led by Senator Christopher Dodd to Taiwan in April 2022 to affirm Washington’s commitment to Taiwan’s self-defense in the face of Chinese provocation.