A senior Biden administration official, on condition of anonymity, told Reuters on Monday that the administration would today dispatch a bipartisan team of retired U.S. defense and NSC officials for a quick visit to Taiwan, in order to “demonstrate our continued robust support for Taiwan.” The delegation is led by Adm. Mike Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and includes Meghan O’Sullivan, former deputy National Security Advisor under George W. Bush; Michele Flournoy, former Undersecretary of Defense under Barack Obama; and two former National Security Council senior directors for Asia, Mike Green and Evan Medeiros, the official reported. The delegation is to arrive on Tuesday afternoon, meet Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen, Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng, and other senior officials, and depart by Wednesday evening.
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry welcomed the “surprise” visit. President Tsai’s office called the timing of the visit during the Ukraine crisis a demonstration that Taiwan-U.S. ties are “rock solid.”
