Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has told a delegation of US lawmakers that Taiwan's people "love democracy and seek peace".

Tsai made the comment at a lunch she hosted in Taipei on Saturday for a visiting US delegation led by Michael McCaul, the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Tsai referred to the US National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2023, which allocates up to 10 billion dollars in military assistance for Taiwan over five years. She thanked the US Congress for passing the bipartisan bill and keeping its promise on Taiwan's security.

Tsai reiterated that Taiwan will fulfill its responsibility to the international community. She added that Taiwan will continue to work with the US and like-minded countries to jointly defend the values of democracy and freedom.

Observers say Tsai was implicitly criticizing China, which announced it would conduct three days of military exercises around Taiwan starting Saturday. The move is seen as a response to Tsai's meeting on Wednesday in California with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

McCaul said the US Congress is doing everything possible to speed up the delivery of the weapons that Taiwan needs to defend itself. He also said, "we will provide training to your military, not for war, but for peace."