On Thursday, Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and five of his colleagues sent a letter to Senator Robert Mendez (D-NJ), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator James Risch (R-ID), Ranking Member of the Foreign Relations Committee, regarding Taiwan and Communist China. The senators are requesting the committee to hold Member-level classified briefings as well as a full committee hearing with cabinet-level officials from the Biden Administration’s State Department and U.S. Department of Defense about U.S. strategy toward the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and U.S. policy regarding Taiwan.
Joining Senator Hagerty in composing the letter includes Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), John Barrasso (R-WY), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Todd Young (R-IN).
In a tweet, Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) announced, “After Biden said he & Xi agreed to abide by the “Taiwan Agreement”, my colleagues & I are asking @SenatorMenendez & @SenatorRisch to hold regular classified briefings & an open full committee hearing w/ cabinet-level officials about U.S. strategy toward Communist China & Taiwan.”
The request follows comments by President Joe Biden to reporters that he and CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping had agreed to abide by the “Taiwan Agreement.”
“It is unclear when President Biden spoke with CCP General Secretary Xi about Taiwan — in particular, whether it was before or after the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) flew nearly 150 military aircraft, including fighters and nuclear-capable bombers, into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone over a four-day period, the largest incursion ever by the Chinese military,” the senators wrote. “Moreover, it is unclear what ‘Taiwan agreement’ between the United States and China President Biden was referring — whether he merely meant America’s longstanding policy towards Taiwan and China, respectively, or some new undisclosed agreement or understanding on Taiwan between Washington and Beijing.”
– – –
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Chinese Military Band” by Mil.ru CC BY 4.0.
