Section 3 of the act provides that, "in furtherance of the policy of this Act, the United States will make available to Taiwan such defense articles and defense services in such quantity as may be necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability."
In every country, the national government is responsible for protecting its people and territory against foreign invasions. Such responsibility is so fundamental and clear that it does not need any executive announcement or legislation to spell it out.
No country in the world would leave the national defense of a part of its territory to that territory itself. As a matter of law, if the US government had considered Taiwan an American territory, it would not have needed to enact the TRA.
There are some in Taiwan who have put forth the idea that Taiwan petitions Washington that the island becomes a US territory.
At present, the people of Taiwan, who collectively own the island, have many options to choose their own future. Even if they desire Taiwan to be a part of the US, approval by the US Congress is required for the US to acquire a new territory.
Until then, Taiwan is not a US territory.
[Citations of the quotations in this paper can be found in the article "The Territorial State and Taiwan" (The Comparative Law Journal of Japan, The Japanese Comparative Law Institute, Tokyo, Japan, 2003).]
Frank Chiang is president of the Taiwan Public Policy Council in the US and a professor of law at Fordham University School of Law, New York City.
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