Senior Senate officials visited Asia and warned China not to change the status quo

Senior Senate officials visited Asia and warned China not to change the status quo. Menendez, chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, recently embarked on a nine-day trip to Asia, which will...

Senior Senate officials visited Asia and warned China not to change the status quo. Menendez, chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, recently embarked on a nine-day trip to Asia. He will visit Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and mainland China. This is Menendez's first visit to Asia since the new session of Congress began. Menendez will visit Japan from August 13 to 15. He will meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, and Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera. He will also meet with Japanese Komeito Chairman Natsuo Yamaguchi and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Lower House of Japan Katsuyuki Kawai. Japanese sources said Abe will discuss China-related aspects of U.S.-Japan relations with Menendez. In a resolution passed by the U.S. Senate in early August, the resolution claimed that China had "intimidated and used force" around the Diaoyu Islands and the South China Sea in order to "change the territorial status quo." It also stated that the United States believed that the Diaoyu Islands were under Japanese control and that this understanding "will not be changed by the unilateral actions of a third party." It also stated that the United States will unwaveringly respond to "any armed attack" in accordance with the "Japan-US Security Treaty." It was Menendez who pushed for this motion. It is worth mentioning that on the last day of Menendez's visit, some members of Abe's cabinet will visit the Yasukuni Shrine. So far, 3 people have made it clear that they will join the society to pay homage, 9 people have said they will not, and some members have not made a statement. Menendez's second stop is Taiwan. It is believed that during his visit to Taiwan, he will communicate with Taiwan on issues such as Taiwan's accession to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. Menendez is a member of the U.S. Senate's "Taiwan Connection" and has spared no effort in supporting Taiwan's various issues. He recently joined forces with House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Royce to promote the passage of a bill supporting Taiwan's participation in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as an observer in Congress. U.S. President Obama also signed the bill on July 12. During his visit to South Korea from the 17th to the 19th, Menendez will meet with South Korean President Park Geun-hye, South Korean Foreign Minister Yoon Byung-se and other political figures. Menendez will finally arrive in China for a visit on the 19th and will end his Asia trip on the 21st. At present, China has not announced the list of people meeting and the topics of dialogue. In May 2009, the current US Secretary of State Kerry visited China as chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, and visited Chinese cities such as Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin with Pelosi, then Speaker of the US House of Representatives. That visit was aimed at promoting the United States and China to jointly address climate change, and also participated in the U.S.-China Clean Energy Forum. Then Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping and Vice Premier Li Keqiang met with Kerry.