TAOYUAN: President Joe Biden sent an unofficial delegation of former US officials to Taiwan on Wednesday in a signal of support for the democratic island as it faces increasingly hostile moves by China.

Taipei said former senator Christopher Dodd and former deputy secretaries of state Richard Armitage and James Steinberg would land in the capital on Wednesday afternoon. “Once again this visit demonstrates the firm relationship between Taiwan and the United States,” said Xavier Chang, presidential office spokesman. “It is strong as a rock.”