On June 16, the US House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing on US-Taiwan relations, entitled “Why Taiwan Matters.” The meeting and the testimony from four US experts on relations with Taiwan produced quite an amazing bipartisan consensus on the present status and the way forward. Most members of the US Congress and all the presenters emphasized that US-Taiwan relations rested on a solid basis, reiterating that the Taiwan Relations Act and shared democratic values were the cornerstones of the relationship. However, there was general disappointment that ties had been allowed to drift.
Former US deputy assistant secretary of state Randy Schriver said that the administration of US President Barack Obama, like previous administrations, “does not have high enough aspirations for Taiwan.” Washington must be more creative and move away from the image that Taiwan is a “problem” to be managed as a subset of its relations with China.
June Teufel Dreyer, a professor at the University of Miami, said Chinese strategists view Taiwan as a stepping stone for reaching China’s larger goal of controlling sea lanes and resources in the Western Pacific. She emphasized that a free and democratic Taiwan was essential and criticized President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration for drifting toward Beijing “at the cost of erosion in Taiwan’s democracy.”
Nancy Tucker, a professor at Georgetown University, urged Congress to become more active in promoting the positive development of US-Taiwan relations. She reiterated that Beijing has continued to deploy missiles to threaten Taiwan despite the present relaxation in cross-strait tensions, and cautioned that it could easily revert to a more aggressive approach. She said Washington must indicate it is willing to work with whatever leadership is elected in Taiwan, sending a clear message that its democracy is here to stay.
US-Taiwan Chamber of Commerce president Rupert Hammond--Chambers decried the lack of ambition and leadership of the US government in relations with Taiwan. He — like all the other presenters — strongly urged the Obama administration to move forward with the sale of new F-16s to Taipei, saying the continued US freeze on arms sales risked legitimizing China’s reliance on military coercion to settle disputes.
All the presenters cautioned against recent proposals that the US reduce its commitment to Taiwan. US Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen agreed, saying: “This [a reduced commitment to Taiwan] would be a terrible mistake which would have far-reaching ramifications about how the US treats its democratic allies — its friends.”
So, the signal from Congress is clear: Washington’s ties with Taiwan have been allowed to slip and more vigor and enthusiasm need to be put into the relationship. The Obama administration needs to move ahead with the sale of the F-16s and move away from self-imposed restrictions.
High-level contacts are the essence of international relations and the fact that Chinese leaders are given the red carpet treatment in Washington, while elected leaders from Taiwan are not even allowed to visit the US capital is still one of the most jarring images around. Why can’t US officials meet their counterparts from a democratic Taiwan, while large US delegations travel to Beijing to hobnob with counterparts in a rather repressive regime?
If the US does not shore up its ties with Taipei, Washington risks marginalizing the freedom-loving Taiwanese, who will drift further in China’s direction. The Obama administration must act to stay true to the basic values it supposedly stands for.
Nat Bellocchi served as US ambassador to Botswana and is a former chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan. The views expressed in this article are his own.
In the US’ National Security Strategy (NSS) report released last month, US President Donald Trump offered his interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine. The “Trump Corollary,” presented on page 15, is a distinctly aggressive rebranding of the more than 200-year-old foreign policy position. Beyond reasserting the sovereignty of the western hemisphere against foreign intervention, the document centers on energy and strategic assets, and attempts to redraw the map of the geopolitical landscape more broadly. It is clear that Trump no longer sees the western hemisphere as a peaceful backyard, but rather as the frontier of a new Cold War. In particular,
When it became clear that the world was entering a new era with a radical change in the US’ global stance in US President Donald Trump’s second term, many in Taiwan were concerned about what this meant for the nation’s defense against China. Instability and disruption are dangerous. Chaos introduces unknowns. There was a sense that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) might have a point with its tendency not to trust the US. The world order is certainly changing, but concerns about the implications for Taiwan of this disruption left many blind to how the same forces might also weaken
As the new year dawns, Taiwan faces a range of external uncertainties that could impact the safety and prosperity of its people and reverberate in its politics. Here are a few key questions that could spill over into Taiwan in the year ahead. WILL THE AI BUBBLE POP? The global AI boom supported Taiwan’s significant economic expansion in 2025. Taiwan’s economy grew over 7 percent and set records for exports, imports, and trade surplus. There is a brewing debate among investors about whether the AI boom will carry forward into 2026. Skeptics warn that AI-led global equity markets are overvalued and overleveraged
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Monday announced that she would dissolve parliament on Friday. Although the snap election on Feb. 8 might appear to be a domestic affair, it would have real implications for Taiwan and regional security. Whether the Takaichi-led coalition can advance a stronger security policy lies in not just gaining enough seats in parliament to pass legislation, but also in a public mandate to push forward reforms to upgrade the Japanese military. As one of Taiwan’s closest neighbors, a boost in Japan’s defense capabilities would serve as a strong deterrent to China in acting unilaterally in the
RSS