Biden sends unofficial delegation to Taiwan to underscore commitment-White House

Former U.S. Senator Chris Dodd and former Deputy Secretaries of State Richard Armitage and James Steinberg headed to Taiwan on Tuesday at President Joe Biden's request as a signal of the U.S. commitment to Taiwan and its democracy, the White House said in a statement.

It said the dispatch of what it called an "unofficial" delegation comes as the United States and Taiwan mark the 42nd anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act, for which Biden voted.

The delegation would meet senior Taiwanese officials and followed "a longstanding bipartisan tradition of U.S. administrations sending high-level, unofficial delegations to Taiwan," the statement said.