U.S. Senator Jim Banks visits Taiwan, to meet President Lai

Taipei, April 7 (CNA) United States Senator Jim Banks, a Republican from Indiana, has arrived in Taiwan for a three-day visit, during which he will meet with President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and other senior officials to discuss issues of mutual interest.

Banks, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, will engage in high-level meetings with Lai and other senior officials to discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade and investment, according to separate statements issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT).

The AIT represents U.S. interests in Taiwan in the absence of formal diplomatic ties.

Banks has long upheld the "peace through strength" concept and has supported closer Taiwan-U.S. security cooperation, according to MOFA.

He has also called for easing the double taxation burden between the two sides and for building a secure semiconductor supply chain, it said.

The ongoing trip to Taiwan is his first visit to the Asia-Pacific region since assuming his Senate post in early 2025, according to MOFA.

According to the AIT, Banks is a U.S. Navy veteran. Before being elected to the Senate in 2024, he served in the United States House of Representatives and the Indiana State Senate.

While serving in the Indiana State Senate from 2010 to 2016, he chaired the Senate Veterans Affairs and Military Committee.