Washington, Nov. 24 (CNA) Taiwan and the United States will continue their cooperation on environmental initiatives despite the canceled visit of a top American environmental official, Taiwan's representative to the U.S. Hsiao Bi-khim said Tuesday.

Speaking to the media, Hsiao expressed regret over the cancellation of the trip by Andrew Wheeler, the head of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), but said Taiwan will maintain all forms of exchanges with the U.S.

The cancellation of Wheeler's trip to Taiwan, which had been scheduled for the week of Dec. 5, was reported by Bloomberg earlier Tuesday.

"Due to pressing domestic priorities at home, Administrator Wheeler's visit to Taiwan has been postponed," James Hewitt, a U.S. EPA spokesman, was cited as saying in the Bloomberg report.

Wheeler and his delegation had planned to visit Taiwan for three days to discuss a wide range of topics such as ocean trash, air quality and child health, according to earlier reports.

Before the trip was canceled, the New York Times cast doubt on Wheeler's travel plans, criticizing the idea that the top EPA official would spend lavishly on overseas travel less than two months before President-elect Joe Biden takes office on Jan. 20.

According to the New York Times, a visit to Taiwan would have required a chartered flight costing more than US$250,000 to avoid COVID-19 risks as well as the lengthy quarantines required.

In Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Wednesday also said it regretted that Wheeler was not coming and noted that the cancellation was decided based on changes in Wheeler's schedule.

In a statement, the MOFA said Taiwan welcomed any exchanges with U.S. Cabinet officials, and will continue to work on the environment with the incoming Biden administration and facilitate future visits by senior U.S. officials.

There was speculation that Wheeler canceled his trip due to an unannounced visit by Rear Admiral Michael Studeman, director of Intelligence of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, to Taipei on Sunday.

But Foreign Minister Joseph Wu disputed the speculation on the sidelines of a legislative hearing, saying the two matters were unrelated.

Studeman, a top U.S. intelligence official, arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport on Sunday on a chartered plane for a three-day visit. The plane departed from the same airport around 7:10 p.m. Tuesday, according to photographs taken by local media.

MOFA did not confirm or comment on Studeman's visit.

Two high-level U.S. officials have visited Taiwan in recent months -- Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar in August and Undersecretary of State Keith Krach in September -- which observers saw as reflecting a tightening of ties between the two countries.