U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, the Republican chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, arrived in Taipei on 29 August with a small congressional delegation that includes fellow committee member Senator Deb Fischer. The visit is the first by a head of the panel in nine years and follows stops in Hawaii, Guam, Palau and the Philippines. Meeting President Lai Ching-te at the presidential office, Wicker said Congress brings a message of “long-term friendship” and that Taiwan “absolutely has the right to remain free and preserve self-determination.” Lai responded that the island hopes to deepen security cooperation with Washington, including joint weapons design and production, and expressed a desire to resolve trade-deficit issues through ongoing tariff negotiations. Wicker’s trip precedes next week’s debate on the nearly $1 trillion National Defense Authorization Act, which he said will again expand provisions related to Taiwan. Taipei, for its part, plans to raise defence spending to more than 3% of GDP in 2026 and to 5% by 2030, aligning with U.S. calls for greater burden-sharing in the Indo-Pacific. Beijing condemned the visit, with the foreign ministry saying it “firmly opposes any official exchanges” between the United States and Taiwan and warning that the trip violates the one-China principle. China has stepped up military activity around the island and is preparing a large parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, underscoring heightened tensions in the Taiwan Strait.