U.S. lawmakers arrive in Taiwan after China's military exercise

Taipei, May 26 (CNA) A group of bipartisan American lawmakers, led by Republican Michael McCaul, arrived in Taipei on Sunday for a visit, one day after China ended a military drill that encircled Taiwan in a show of anger over Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) inauguration speech.

The delegation of United States House members will meet with senior Taiwan leaders and members of civil society to discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade and investment, and other significant issues of mutual interest, according to a press release issued by the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT).

Led by McCaul who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the delegation includes Republicans Young Kim, Joe Wilson, and Andy Barr, and Democrats Jimmy Panetta and Chrissy Houlahan, the AIT said.

Their four-day visit to Taiwan is part of a trip to the wider Indo-Pacific region, according to the AIT, which represents U.S. interests in Taiwan in the absence of diplomatic ties.

The six House members will be the first group of serving U.S. officials to meet with Lai after his inauguration on May 20 and also to visit Taiwan in the wake of China's two-day military drill in areas surrounding Taiwan.

"I think it's very important that we show our strong support for Taiwan. I think it is a deterrent," McCaul told NBC News before his arrival in Taiwan.

Beijing has expressed anger over Lai's inauguration address, which it claimed was promoting Taiwan independence.