US Senator: Taiwan has right to be free and 'preserve self-determination'

29/8/2025 16:12

U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee and one of the strongest advocates for Taiwan in the U.S. Congress, arrived in Taipei on Friday to discuss security as China ratchets up its military pressure on the island.



Wicker said he and Senator Deb Fischer were visiting to reinforce the "great partnership" the United States and Taiwan had and would have in the future. Fischer is also a Republican and a member of the Armed Services Committee.



"We're here to talk to our friends and allies in Taiwan about what we're doing to enhance worldwide peace, the kind of peace through strength that Ronald Reagan talked about," he told reporters at Taipei's downtown Songshan airport, referring to the late U.S. president.



The U.S. Senate is due to consider next week the National Defense Authorization act, or NDAA, a nearly $1 trillion bill that sets policy for the Pentagon. Wicker said that this year's NDAA would "add to the provisions again" when it came to Taiwan, though he gave no details.



In comments released by the de facto U.S. embassy in Taiwan, Wicker added that the Taiwanese people's resolve to live in a free society were a symbol of hope for the world.