A delegation of U.S. senators arrived in Taiwan on Sunday (Aug. 14) for a two-day visit during which they will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen.

Beijing, which asserts Taiwan's democratically elected government as its own, has staged military exercises all around the island to vent its resentment at Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, visiting Taipei in early August. The mission is being led by Senator Ed Markey, who is accompanied by four House members as part of what the de facto U.S. embassy in Taipei described as a more extensive visit to the Indo-Pacific area.

"Especially at a time when China is raising tensions in the Taiwan Strait and the region with military exercises, Markey leading a delegation to visit Taiwan once again demonstrates the United States Congress' firm support for Taiwan," a statement said.

East Asia, Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is chaired by Markey. Representative Don Beyer and Representative John Garamendi, both congressional Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control Working Group members, will be serving as co-leaders of the visit, according to a Markey official.

On Sunday, China's embassy in Washington stated that "members of the U.S. Congress should act in consistence with the U.S. government's one-China policy," and that the latest congressional visit "once again proves that the U.S. does not want to see stability across the Taiwan Straits and has spared no effort to stir up confrontation between the two sides and interfere in China's internal affairs."

According to a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, members of Congress have been visiting Taiwan for decades and will continue to do so, adding that such visits are consistent with the U.S.' long-standing one-China policy.

According to Markey's office, the delegation will meet with elected officials and representatives of the private sector to "discuss shared interests, including reducing tensions in the Taiwan Strait and expanding economic cooperation, including investments in semiconductors."

Markey had previously met South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol during the delegation's earlier stay in that country.

While Markey arrived at the Taoyuan international airport, Taiwan's Foreign Ministry issued images of four lawmakers being received at Taipei's downtown Songshan airport after arriving on a U.S. air force transport jet.

"The delegation will meet with senior Taiwan leaders to discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade and investment, global supply chains, climate change, and other significant issues of mutual interest," the de facto U.S. embassy said.