Rep. Brad Wenstrup, an Ohio Republican, landed in the capital city for a three-day trip that would include meetings with Taiwan’s leadership, the ministry’s press release said.

Wenstrup is an Iraq War veteran and ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee’s Defense Intelligence and Warfighter Support Subcommittee.

Also visiting Taiwan until Thursday were Democratic Reps. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts and Kai Kahele of Hawaii, as well as Republican Rep. Michael Waltz of Florida. All three are members of the House Armed Services Committee.

Taiwan’s foreign ministry described the U.S. lawmakers as “important friends.” They will meet President Tsai Ing-wen, national security adviser Wellington Koo and foreign minister Joseph Wu for discussions about U.S.-Taiwan relations, regional security and trade, the statement said.

Democratically governed Taiwan has traditionally enjoyed staunch support from Congress over the decades, including for its self-defense and closer bilateral ties between the two capitals.

However, visits by members of both houses have come under increased scrutiny after Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s high-profile trip in August sparked an unprecedented response from Beijing.

The California Democrat, a long-time China-skeptic, was welcomed warmly by Taiwan’s public, but trod on the Chinese government’s sensitivities by becoming the highest-ranking U.S. official to set foot on the island in a quarter-century.

China claims Taiwan as its own and considers “unification” with the island a long-term goal to be achieved peacefully if possible, but by force if necessary.

Beijing also was displeased when Republican Newt Gingrich traveled to Taipei in his capacity as House Speaker in 1997, but there was little to be done besides protest—now times have changed.

China’s rapidly modernizing military boasts a numerical advantage over Taiwan’s defenders. Perhaps more importantly, however, Chinese forces also outnumber the American counterparts that may be involved in a defense of the island, although the U.S. still retains the technical edge.

Beijing’s unprecedented war games in early August, which included the firing of 11 ballistic missiles into the waters around Taiwan, were a dramatic show of force that was meant to deter further political ties between Taipei and Washington, but it appears to have had the opposite effect.

The White House may not have liked Pelosi’s decision to visit Taiwan, but it has reaffirmed U.S. commitment to the island’s self-defense. In remarks that further irked China in September, President Joe Biden suggested he would deploy U.S. forces to defend Taipei.

The queue of visitors from Capitol Hill also hasn’t stopped. At least 34 members of Congress have visited Taiwan this year, 19 of whom traveled after the U.S.-China fallout over the Pelosi saga. The figure doesn’t include visits by former U.S. officials, other elected representatives, and lawmakers from Canada, Europe and Japan.

The arrival of the House Republicans and Democrats on Tuesday overlaps with an ongoing visit by Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, a Texas Democrat who chairs the House Science, Space and Technology Committee. Johnson attended Taiwan’s National Day celebrations on Monday and was due to depart on Wednesday, according to her itinerary.