Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen met Monday with a delegation of U.S. Congress members in a further sign of support among American lawmakers for the self-governing island that China claims as its own territory. Taiwanese media showed the delegation arriving for the talks, but details of the meeting were not immediately released. It comes less than two weeks after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, which prompted days of threatening military exercises by China, including the firing of missiles over the island and into the Taiwan Strait. China has also sent warplanes and navy ships across the waterway’s median, which has long been a buffer between the sides that separated amid civil war in 1949. China regards formal contacts between U.S. politicians and the island’s government as support for its independence from Beijing. China says it wants to use peaceful means to bring Taiwan under its control, but its recent saber rattling has emphasized its military threat. The five-member delegation is led by Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts and is to meet with other government and private sector representatives. Reducing tensions in the Taiwan Strait and investments in Taiwan’s crucial semiconductor industry are expected to be key topics of discussion. The other members of the delegation are Republican Rep. Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, a delegate from American Samoa, and Democrats John Garamendi and Alan Lowenthal from California and Don Beyer from Virginia. Read: More US lawmakers visit Taiwan 12 days after Pelosi trip A senior White House official on Asia policy said last week that China had used Pelosi’s visit as a pretext to launch an intensified pressure campaign against Taiwan, jeopardizing peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the broader region. “China has overreacted, and its actions continue to be provocative, destabilizing, and unprecedented,” Kurt Campbell, a deputy assistant to President Joe Biden, said on a call with reporters. “It has sought to disregard the centerline between the P.R.C. and Taiwan, which has been respected by both sides for more than 60 years as a stabilizing feature,” he said, using the acronym for the country’s full name, the People’s Republic of China. China accuses the U.S. of encouraging independence forces in Taiwan through its sale of military equipment to the island and engaging with its officials. The U.S. says it does not support independence for Taiwan but that its differences with China should be resolved by peaceful means. China’s ruling Communist Party has long said that it favors Taiwan joining China peacefully but that it will not rule out force if necessary. The two split in 1949 during a civil war in which the Communists took control of China and the losing Nationalists retreated to the island of Taiwan. Campbell, speaking on Friday, said the U.S. would send warships and planes through the Taiwan Strait in the next few weeks and is developing a roadmap for trade talks with Taiwan that he said the U.S. intends to announce in the coming days.

A delegation of American lawmakers arrived in Taiwan on Sunday, just 12 days after a visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that prompted China to launch days of threatening military drills around the self-governing island that Beijing says must come under its control. The five-member delegation, led by Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, will meet President Tsai Ing-wen and other officials, as well as members of the private sector, to discuss shared interests including reducing tensions in the Taiwan Strait and investments in semiconductors. China responded to Pelosi’s Aug. 2 visit by sending missiles, warships and warplanes into the seas and skies around Taiwan for several days afterward. The Chinese government objects to Taiwan having any official contact with foreign governments, particularly with a high-ranking congressional leader like Pelosi. Read: China extends threatening military exercises around Taiwan A Taiwanese broadcaster showed video of a U.S. government plane landing about 7 p.m. Sunday at Songshan Airport in Taipei, the Taiwanese capital. Four members of the delegation were on the plane. Markey met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol earlier Sunday in South Korea before arriving in Taiwan on a separate flight at Taoyuan International Airport, which also serves Taipei. Markey, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations East Asia, Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Subcommittee, and members of the delegation will reaffirm the United States’ support for Taiwan. The other members of the delegation are Republican Rep. Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, a delegate from American Samoa, and Democratic House members John Garamendi and Alan Lowenthal from California and Don Beyer from Virginia. Chinese warplanes have continued crossing the midpoint of the Taiwan Strait on a daily basis even after the conclusion of the military exercises last Wednesday, with at least 10 doing so on Sunday, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said. The 10 fighter jets were among 22 Chinese military aircraft and six naval ships detected in the area around Taiwan by 5 p.m. on Sunday, the ministry said on its Twitter account. A senior White House official on Asia policy said late last week that China had used Pelosi’s visit as a pretext to launch an intensified pressure campaign against Taiwan, jeopardizing peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the broader region. “China has overreacted, and its actions continue to be provocative, destabilizing, and unprecedented,” Kurt Campbell, a deputy assistant to President Joe Biden, said on a call with reporters. “It has sought to disregard the centerline between the P.R.C. and Taiwan, which has been respected by both sides for more than 60 years as a stabilizing feature,” he said, using the acronym for the country’s full name, the People’s Republic of China. China accuses the U.S. of encouraging independence forces in Taiwan through its sale of military equipment to the island and engaging with its officials. The U.S. says it does not support independence for Taiwan but that its differences with China should be resolved by peaceful means.   China’s ruling Communist Party has long said that it favors Taiwan joining China peacefully but that it will not rule out force if necessary. The two split in 1949 during a civil war in which the Communists took control of China and the losing Nationalists retreated to the island of Taiwan. Campbell, speaking on Friday, said the U.S. would send warships and planes through the Taiwan Strait in the next few weeks and is developing a roadmap for trade talks with Taiwan that he said the U.S. intends to announce in the coming days.  

US Senator Ted Cruz (Republican-Texas) and Congressman Steve Chabot (Republican-Ohio) have expressed their willingness to facilitate further strengthening Dhaka-Washington relations. They said this during separate meetings with a four-member delegation from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs led by its Chairman Muhammad Faruk Khan. Other members of the team were Nurul Islam Nahid, Nahim Razzak; and Kazi Nabil Ahmed, according to a message received here from Bangladesh mission in Washington on Thursday. Also read:US keen to deepen ties with Bangladesh: Ambassador Haas The meetings took place on Wednesday at the respective offices of the senator and the congressman at Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Bangladesh Ambassador to the United States M Shahidul Islam and embassy officials were present in the meetings. During the meetings, the Parliamentary delegation briefed the US lawmakers on Bangladesh’s impressive socio-economic development that has taken place under the able leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Deportation of Rashed Chowdhury and sanctions on RAB The delegation reiterated Bangladesh’s request for the deportation of Rashed Chowdhury, the self-confessed killer of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. They also sought the US lawmakers’ support for lifting US sanctions on the RAB, which is making tremendous contributions to the fight against extremism, terrorism, and cross-border crimes, including drugs and human trafficking. The delegation highlighted Bangladesh’s sustained economic growth, efficient COVID-19 management and measures to improve democratic governance. The Bangladeshi lawmakers acknowledged US humanitarian and political support to cope with more than one million displaced Rohingyas sheltered in Bangladesh, and requested the US lawmakers to persuade Myanmar in all possible ways to create a safe environment in Rakhine State to ensure safe and voluntary return to their homeland in Myanmar. The US lawmakers commended Bangladesh’s generosity in hosting this huge number of Rohingyas and said that they would continue their efforts to address the Rohingya issue. The Bangladesh delegation also appreciated the US government’s donation of 64 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Bangladesh.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has requested the US lawmakers to persuade Myanmar in all possible ways to create a safe environment in Rakhine State and take back all the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals, temporarily staying in Bangladesh, to their homeland. Foreign Minister Momen held meetings with Senator Jon Ossoff (Democrat-Georgia); and Congressman Ami Bera (Democrat-California), the Chairman of the House, Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia, and Nonproliferation. The meetings were held on Wednesday in Washington D.C at the respective offices of the Senator and the Congressman at the US Capital.

Lawmakers of both parties raised the prospect Thursday of ousting President Donald Trump from office, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that if he wasn't removed, the House may move forward with a second impeachment.