The U.S. and Taiwan could feasibly manufacture weapons jointly, according to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, in remarks that risk angering and escalating tensions with China.

“We are open to suggestion and innovation in that regard,” Wicker said during a briefing Saturday in Taipei. “And that will depend on the skills present both on this side of the Pacific Ocean and ours.”

The senator from Mississippi arrived in Taiwan on Friday with Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska as part of an Indo-Pacific trip that included stops in Hawaii, Guam, Palau and the Philippines. The Republican senators also met with Taiwanese Defense Minister Wellington Koo on Saturday.

Their visit drew criticism from Beijing, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun saying it undermined China’s sov

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