Washington is increasing contacts with Taiwan at the risk of offending China.

The United States sent a delegation to Taipei for the second time in just two months.

Three US senators landed on Sunday, June 6 in Taiwan, announcing that Washington was going to give 750,000 doses of vaccines against Covid-19 to its ally.

Taiwan accuses China of hampering efforts to obtain antidotes as the island of 23.5 million faces a sudden coronavirus outbreak.

Senators Tammy Duckworth, Christopher Coons and Dan Sullivan, two Democrats and a Republican, landed at Songshan Airport in Taipei on Sunday morning aboard a US military plane.

It is unusual for the United States to send officials to Taiwan aboard a military aircraft.

China regards Taiwan as one of its provinces and threatens to use force in the event of a formal proclamation of independence or external intervention.

Washington severed diplomatic relations with Taipei in 1979 in order to recognize Beijing as China's sole official representative.

But the United States remains Taiwan's most powerful ally and its number one arms supplier. 

Vaccine diplomacy 

Long set up as a model of good management of the epidemic, recording only a few hundred cases and less than 10 deaths linked to the coronavirus, Taiwan has seen its number of cases jump in recent weeks.

Its toll has now reached around 10,000 Covid-19 contaminations and 166 deaths, after the virus was spread via airline pilots.

The island has so far received only 726,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine and 150,000 doses of Moderna vaccine.

"We are here as friends because we know that Taiwan is currently facing difficulties, which explains the importance of our visit to all three, from both parties," said Tammy Duckworth. 

US President Joe Biden pledged last week that the United States would donate 25 million doses to countries in need, mainly through the Covax international distribution system.

Japan, for its part, announced Friday that it will donate 1.24 million doses of the vaccine to Taiwan.

With AFP

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