The U.S. is sending 2.5 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to Taiwan, tripling an earlier pledge in a donation with both public health and geopolitical meaning. The shipment was due to arrive by plane later Sunday, the de facto U.S. embassy said. “The donation reflects our commitment to Taiwan as a trusted friend, and a member of the international family of democracies,” the American Institute in Taiwan wrote on its Facebook page. Read:Senators say US donating vaccines to Taiwan amid China row Taiwan, which had been relatively unscathed by the virus, has been caught off-guard by a surge in new cases since May and is now scrambling to get COVID-19 vaccines. It has ordered 5.05 million doses directly from Moderna but so far received only 390,000, including a second shipment that arrived Friday. The U.S. donation also signals its support for Taiwan in the face of growing pressure from China, which claims the self-governing island off its east coast as its territory. The U.S. does not have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan under what is known as the one-China policy, but is legally bound by its own laws to ensure that Taiwan can defend itself. The U.S. promised 750,000 vaccine doses for Taiwan earlier this month, sending Sen. Tammy Duckworth and two of her Senate colleagues to the island aboard a military transport plane to make the announcement. Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen said the U.S. had decided to increase the donation through efforts on both sides over the past two weeks. Read: China may buckle down to reunify Taiwan after crackdown on Hong Kong In a Facebook post, Tsai joined the U.S. in drawing attention to their shared democratic systems. China, which has been ruled single handedly by the Communist Party since 1949, says Taiwan must eventually come under its control and reserves the right to use force if necessary. “Whether it is for regional peace and stability or the virus that is a common human adversary, we will continue to uphold common ideas and work together,” Tsai wrote in Chinese. She has accused China of blocking Taiwan from getting the Pfizer vaccine through BioNTech, the German co-developer. Chinese officials have repeatedly denied the charge, and say China is willing to provide vaccines to Taiwan. Taiwanese law, however, bans the import of Chinese-made medicine. Read:Taiwan struggles with testing backlog amid largest outbreak The U.S. donation follows Japan’s shipment of 1.24 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in early June. Taiwan has ordered 10 million doses from AstraZeneca but has yet to receive most of them.

The U.S. will give Taiwan 750,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, part of President Joe Biden’s move to share millions of jabs globally, three senators said Sunday, after the self-ruled island complained that China is hindering its efforts to secure the injections amid an outbreak. Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illonois, who arrived in Taiwan with her two colleagues, said the trip underscores the bipartisan support for the democratic island that Beijing claims as its own renegade territory. “We are here as friends, because we know that Taiwan is experiencing a challenging time right now, which was why it was especially important for the three of us to be here in a bipartisan way,” said Duckworth. “It was critical to the United States that Taiwan be included in the first group to receive vaccines, because we recognize your urgent need, and we value this partnership.” Read: China may buckle down to reunify Taiwan after crackdown on Hong Kong Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska, a member of the Armed Services Committee, and Democratic Sen. Christopher Coons of Delaware, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, also arrived Sunday morning. Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu received the senators at the airport said he was “delighted” to welcome them and thanked them for their staunch support. “Taiwan is facing unique challenges in combating the virus,” he said. “While we are doing our best to import vaccines, we must overcome obstacles to ensure that these life-saving medicine are delivered free from troubles of Beijing.” He said China continues to try block Taiwan’s international assistance and prevent it from participating in the World Health Organization. “We are no strangers to that kind of obstructionism,” he said. Read: Taiwan struggles with testing backlog amid largest outbreak Wu said Taiwan was fortunate to have many like-minded countries showing their support, which he said is about sustaining freedom and democracy in the face of autocracy. China has in recent months increased pressure on the island, including flying warplanes into Taiwan’s airspace. Taiwan and China split amid civil war in 1949, and most Taiwanese favor maintaining the current state of de facto independence while engaging in robust economic exchanges with the mainland. But vast improvements in China’s military capabilities and its increasing activity around Taiwan have raised concerns in the U.S., which is legally bound to ensure Taiwan is capable of defending itself and to regard all threats to the island’s security as matters of “grave concern.” Taiwan, which has weathered virtually unscathed the initial outbreak last year, is now facing its most serious flare-up with over 10,000 cases since the end of April. Read: Coronavirus: Taiwan has another jump, capital closing schools On Friday, Japan donated 1.24 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Taiwan. Biden announced last week the U.S. will swiftly donate an initial allotment of 25 million doses of surplus vaccine overseas through the U.N.-backed COVAX program, which to date has shared just 76 million doses with needy countries. Overall, the White House has announced plans to share 80 million doses globally by the end of June, most through COVAX. The Thai-born Duckworth said the American donation also reflects gratitude for Taiwan’s support for the U.S., as Taiwan donated personal protective equipment and other supplies to the U.S. in the early days of the pandemic. The three senators plan to meet Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and senior government officials to discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations and other issues during their one-day trip.