Duckworth talks about secret flight to Taiwan
Thursday, Aug 12, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* OK, I know we generally don’t talk about stuff like this, but we do have a local angle and it’s an interesting story…
A group of U.S. lawmakers who flew from South Korea to Taiwan in June hid their itinerary from officials in Seoul so they could deny knowledge of the trip and avoid a diplomatic fallout with China, Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) revealed at a conference on Tuesday.
Duckworth, who was part of the highly watched whirlwind visit to Taipei along with Senators Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and Chris Coons (D-DE), said the morale-boosting trip—sanctioned by the Biden administration—showed the Taiwanese public “that America would not abandon them” during the island’s politically charged vaccine shortage earlier this summer.
Taiwan’s vaccine procurement was “being blockaded by China,” the senator said at an event hosted by the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). During their three-hour visit on June 6, the senators announced the donation of 750,000 Moderna vaccines to Taiwan—an amount later tripled to 2.5 million doses. […]
[Duckworth] said: “We got to South Korea, and it was very much touch and go. We weren’t sure we were going to be able to get to Taiwan. There were no commercial flights. The administration agreed with us and actually sent a military aircraft, and flew us in from a military base in South Korea to Taiwan. […]
Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen, whose government faced political pressure amid a coronavirus outbreak and a vaccine shortage at the time, met the senators at the airport. In brief remarks, she said Taiwan would “forever remember” the U.S.’ support.
- Eire 17 - Thursday, Aug 12, 21 @ 4:39 am:
It’s early so maybe I missed it but the first paragraph expresses concern about negative fallout from China if Chinese officials learned about the trip. Makes sense. Why is she talking about it then?
- The House Rules - Thursday, Aug 12, 21 @ 6:23 am:
China probably would have figured it out sometime when Taiwan all of sudden has 2.5 million does of vaccines, or more likely they already know bc China has quite the intelligence operation. that would be my thought. I mean she’s a veteran, one would hope she wouldn’t do something so dumb as to jeopardize this trip’s success.
- northernwatersports - Thursday, Aug 12, 21 @ 8:42 am:
This was a geopolitical messaging mission, with detailed coordination and execution. You don’t send 3 sitting Senators into that situation without plenty of overview @ State and others.
- Wally - Thursday, Aug 12, 21 @ 8:44 am:
==It’s early so maybe I missed it but the first paragraph expresses concern about negative fallout from China if Chinese officials learned about the trip. Makes sense. Why is she talking about it then?==
It was in the news at the time. AP covered it. https://apnews.com/article/taiwan-2cd58cddb5d19c3ade4f488e04867dba, so she’s not exactly giving away something now.
What she was referencing was giving SEOUL deniability and shielding them from Chinese fallout. “We swear! We didn’t know they were flying to Taipei from Seoul!.”
- Fav Human - Thursday, Aug 12, 21 @ 9:09 am:
do something so dumb as to jeopardize this trip’s success.
It is entirely possible that revealing it NOW is deliberate on part of the administration. Sending a message, so to speak.
- Pizza Man - Thursday, Aug 12, 21 @ 9:11 am:
Obviously, China is aware during and after this secretive trip by these senators. While a humanitarian mission, it may cause an economic trade war with the U.S. among other issues.
Why be secretive? I understand the China-Taiwanese relations are tense over its independence. But be transparent.
- JS Mill - Thursday, Aug 12, 21 @ 9:39 am:
=While a humanitarian mission, it may cause an economic trade war with the U.S. among other issues.=
That is already happening.
For those who thoughty Biden would go soft on China due to false narratives pushed by trumpers this is quite the repudiation.
Sleepy Joe is getting a whole lot more done than his predecessor and is tougher on Russia and China.
- Cheryl44 - Thursday, Aug 12, 21 @ 9:41 am:
Why be transparent?
- Six Degrees of Separation - Thursday, Aug 12, 21 @ 9:41 am:
===But be transparent.===
“Transparency” in diplomacy and espionage is not always the wisest course of action. And who knows what “courtesy calls” were made, with tacit understanding that avoidance of publicity would grease the skids for the mission. Of course we all want to know everything that goes into everything.
- Bruce( no not him) - Thursday, Aug 12, 21 @ 9:47 am:
Odds are the Chinese knew about this before they ever took off. This is just telling us about it
- JoanP - Thursday, Aug 12, 21 @ 9:55 am:
I highly recommend the article about Taiwan/Hong Kong in last Sunday’s New York Times Magazine.
- Demoralized - Thursday, Aug 12, 21 @ 10:49 am:
==But be transparent.==
Remind me not to support you as a lead player in national security.
- Wally - Thursday, Aug 12, 21 @ 10:49 am:
For some reason the AP link I included above isn’t working. Here’s another story from around that time. https://asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s-Picks/Interview/America-won-t-abandon-Taiwan-says-Sen.-Duckworth
It was a surprise meeting, but a public meeting at the time. Looks like they had cameras memorializing the meeting. What she’s doing now sounds more like damage control for the benefit of the S. Koreans, hoping to minimize the ire of the Chinese against them.
- Al - Thursday, Aug 12, 21 @ 10:55 am:
At some point China will want both the off-shore oil and to destroy Taiwan’s chip factories. China makes chips too and at some point it will be economically beneficial to invade.
- Pizza Man - Thursday, Aug 12, 21 @ 12:34 pm:
Mr. ‘Demoralized’…I can assure you that I wouldn’t ask you for your support.
In national security, diplomacy also works.
- RNUG - Thursday, Aug 12, 21 @ 3:04 pm:
== Odds are the Chinese knew about this before they ever took off. This is just telling us about it ==
And you can bet the Chinese military tracked the flight from Korea to Taiwan every inch of the way.