U.S. Official Visits Taiwan, and China Warns of Consequences
TAIPEI, Taiwan — A senior U.S. envoy arrived in Taiwan on Thursday to attend a memorial service for former President Lee Teng-hui, in the Trump administration’s latest move to bolster its support of the island in defiance of threats from Beijing.
The foreign ministry in Taiwan said that the envoy, Keith Krach, under secretary for economic growth, energy and the environment, was the highest-level official from the State Department to visit the island in decades.
China, which claims self-governed Taiwan as its territory and opposes formal exchanges of any kind, responded to the news of Mr. Krach’s visit on Wednesday by sending two anti-submarine aircraft into the island’s air defense identification zone, according to the defense ministry in Taiwan. The planes were warned off by the island’s air force, the ministry said.
