In 2019, Heino Klinck, then deputy assistant secretary for East Asia, was the most senior US defense official to visit the self-governed island in four decades.
Chase’s trip to Taiwan comes amid heightened US-China tensions after a Chinese balloon seen traversing the continental US a few weeks ago sparked a diplomatic furor that led Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel his imminent trip to Beijing.
The US contends the balloon was part of an international surveillance program operated by China, while Beijing says it was a meteorological research balloon that was blown off course.