Expressing concern that more European arms sales to China could heighten the risk of a Chinese attack on Taiwan, the US House International Relations Committee on Thursday unanimously passed a bill to impose a wide array of sanctions against the countries and firms that sell arms to Beijing.
The bill would empower the president to impose penalties for two years or longer, including banning weapons sales, withholding military assistance, ending participation in joint weapon and technology research programs and tightening export controls.
The measure would carry out threats that congressional leaders made when the EU announced plans last December to lift its embargo on arms sales to China by this summer.
Under strong US pressure and in the wake of Beijing's passage of the "Anti-Secession" law that authorizes a military attack on Taiwan under certain conditions, the European Parliament in April voted against lifting the embargo, while the European Commission has also decided to maintain the embargo.
However, the bill complains, none of the European countries that have sold arms to China has moved to end or temporarily suspend sales.
The East Asia Security Act of 2005 was unanimously adopted by the International Relations Committee and now goes to the full House.
If the House passes it, the bill or parallel legislation would have to be approved by the Senate before final congressional passage. There is currently no such bill before the Senate.
The bill expresses the hope that a US-EU strategic dialogue begun in the spring will convince the Europeans of the danger to Taiwan of further arms sales to China.
The dialogue also should "clarify for United States friends and allies in Europe how their `non-lethal' arms transfers improve the force projection of the People's Republic of China, are far from benign and enhance the prospects for the threat or use of force in resolving the status of Taiwan," the bill said.
It called the arms sales and the Chinese threat "a troubling prospect made more ominous" by the Anti-Secession Law.
While sanctions on those selling weapons to China would be discretionary to begin with, they would be mandatory for repeat offenders.
The bill would require new and tougher export licensing requirements for access to sensitive US weapons technology for those selling arms to China, and could tighten export controls on their purchase of dual-use items, which have both military and industrial applications.
The president would be permitted to waive the sanctions if needed in the national security interest.
The president would also be required to submit periodic reports to Congress on countries and firms selling arms to China, and would give Congress a role in determining which sanctions to impose.
In a statement before the committee vote on the measure, committee chairman Henry Hyde welcomed the apparent EU decision not to lift the community's embargo on China arms sales, but warned that individual countries had not pledged to end their arms sales, which have grown substantially in recent years.
Those countries' silence "implies that EU member states who have been aiding China's threatened military buildup may continue to do so," which is "very disappointing and troubling," Hyde said.
He said that European weapons sales to China skyrocketed between 2001 and 2003, increasing eight-fold to US$540 million.
Hyde said the sales included items that increase the range, reliability and deadliness of China's attack aircraft and submarines. Both of those would be vital to any Chinese attack on Taiwan.
Such sales were troubling for the security of US forces in East Asia, "for the defense of friends and allies in the region, and for regional stability more broadly," he said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source