Members of the US House of Representatives from across party lines on Monday introduced the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2019 and House Resolution No. 273, titled “Reaffirming the United States commitment to Taiwan and to the implementation of the Taiwan Relations Act.”
The resolution followed the introduced in the US Senate last week of a similar bill, sponsored by US Senator Tom Cotton and five others, dedicated to “the foster[ing of] security in Taiwan and other purposes.”
The resolution reaffirms that the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances are and will remain cornerstones of US relations with Taiwan.
US officials at all levels will be encouraged to travel and meet with their counterparts in Taiwan and for high-level Taiwan officials to enter the US and meet with US officials, per the Taiwan Travel Act, the resolution says.
The US president should conduct regular transfers of defense articles to Taiwan consistent with Taiwan’s national security requirements in accordance to prior legislation, including the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018, it says.
The proposed act states that it is a sense of Congress that Taiwan is a vital part of the US’ free and open Indo-Pacific strategy and that the US government should support Taiwan’s implementation of its asymmetric defense strategy, including undersea warfare and air defense capabilities, into its military forces.
It is standing US policy to advocate for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the UN, the World Health Assembly, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Criminal Police Organization, and other 18 international bodies as appropriate, the act says.
The US president should, no later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2019, conduct a review of the US Department of State’s guidance on diplomatic practice with Taiwan, it says.
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington said that the resolution and bill carry significant meaning at a juncture when Chinese jets have blatantly breached the median line.
Two Chinese J-11 fighter jets crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait at about 11am on Sunday.
The office thanked the US Congress for its long-time support and drive for continued deepening of US-Taiwan relations.
PROVOCATIVE: Chinese Deputy Ambassador to the UN Sun Lei accused Japan of sending military vessels to deliberately provoke tensions in the Taiwan Strait China denounced remarks by Japan and the EU about the South China Sea at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, and accused Tokyo of provocative behavior in the Taiwan Strait and planning military expansion. Ayano Kunimitsu, a Japanese vice foreign minister, told the Council meeting on maritime security that Tokyo was seriously concerned about the situation in the East China and South China seas, and reiterated Japan’s opposition to any attempt to change the “status quo” by force, and obstruction of freedom of navigation and overflight. Stavros Lambrinidis, head of the EU delegation to the UN, also highlighted South China Sea
The final batch of 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the US arrived at Taipei Port last night and were transported to the Armor Training Command in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), completing the military’s multi-year procurement of 108 of the tanks. Starting at 12:10am today, reporters observed more than a dozen civilian flatbed trailers departing from Taipei Port, each carrying an M1A2T tank covered with black waterproof tarps. Escorted by military vehicles, the convoy traveled via the West Coast Expressway to the Armor Training Command, with police implementing traffic control. The army operates about 1,000 tanks, including CM-11 Brave Tiger
China on Wednesday teased in a video an aircraft carrier that could be its fourth, and the first using nuclear power, while making an allusion to Taiwan and vowing to further build up its islands, as it looks to boost maritime power, secure resources and bolster territorial claims. The video, issued on the eve of the 77th founding anniversary of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, featured fictional officers with names that are homophones of three commissioned aircraft carriers, the Liaoning (遼寧), Shandong (山東) and Fujian (福建). Titled Into the Deep, it showed a 19-year-old named “Hejian” (何劍) joining the group, sparking
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said it expects its 2-nanometer (2nm) chip capacity to grow at a compound annual rate of 70 percent from this year to 2028. The projection comes as five fabs begin volume production of 2-nanometer chips this year — two in Hsinchu and three in Kaohsiung — TSMC senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer Cliff Hou (侯永清) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Silicon Valley, California, last week. Output in the first year of 2-nanometer production, which began in the fourth quarter of last year, is expected to
RSS