The US Senate on Tuesday passed legislation asking the government to help Taiwan keep its remaining 15 diplomatic allies, while supporting its international presence.
The legislation titled Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative Act of 2019, or TAIPEI Act 2019, was unanimously passed.
The act, initiated by US Senator Cory Gardner, was introduced in May to express US support for Taiwan’s diplomatic alliances.
In September last year, Gardner initiated TAIPEI Act 2018, but it failed to clear the Senate.
This year’s act authorizes the US Department of State to consider “reducing its economic, security and diplomatic engagements with nations that take serious or significant actions to undermine Taiwan.”
The US government should also help Taiwan gain participation in international organizations, either as a member or an observer, and express its support for Taiwan’s international participation when it interacts with Beijing, the act says.
The bill’s passage came one day before the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee was set to review its own version of the act.
Once it passes the House, a committee made up of both legislative bodies would work out differences between the two versions to come up with a single version before returning the bill to both bodies for approval.
The act would then be sent for the approval of US President Donald Trump, who would have 10 days to sign it into law, or veto it.
In related news on Tuesday, the nominee to become the next US ambassador to the Marshall Islands pledged to do her best to help Taiwan keep the Pacific ally.
Speaking at her nomination hearing before the Senate, Roxanne Cabral said that the Marshall Islands, as one of Taiwan’s 15 diplomatic partners, “plays an important role in maintaining stability in cross-strait relations.”
She pledged, if confirmed as ambassador, to work hard to maintain the US’ strong partnership with the Marshall Islands, together with Taiwan.
Asked what she would do keep the Marshall Islands as a close ally of the US and Taiwan, she said that pushing back against China would be important.
“If confirmed, I would try to strengthen this relationship, encourage a stronger relationship and help the Marshall Islands create an environment that can push back on predatory economic practices of China that we have been seeing around the world,” she said.
Cabral listed ways to support Taiwan and fight against Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, which the US sees as creating debt traps in the countries that join the initiative.
Transparency should be increased and “bad deals” exposed, while also providing better alternatives and maintaining a strong presence in the region, she told the hearing.
Cabral, who is likely to be confirmed, said there are positive signs that relations remain strong.
Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine and the nation’s parliament expressed their support for Taiwan after it lost two Pacific allies last month, while Heine visited Taiwan last week and witnessed the signing of two bilateral agreements, Cabral said.
The career diplomat most recently served as deputy chief of mission and charge d’affaires at the US embassy in Panama. She has also served in Guangzhou, China, and speaks Chinese and Spanish, according to the US Department of State.
Four of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies are in the Pacific region: the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau and Tuvalu.
The National Security Council has warned that the nation could lose more before the Jan. 11 presidential and legislative elections.
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
The number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed that of pet dogs for the first time last year, reaching 1,742,033, a 32.8 percent increase from 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, citing a survey. By contrast, the number of pet dogs declined slightly by 1.2 percent over the same period to 1,462,528, the ministry said. Despite the shift, households with dogs still slightly outnumber those with cats by 1.2 percent. However, while the number of households with multiple dogs has remained relatively stable, households keeping more than two cats have increased, contributing to the overall rise in the feline population. The trend
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 has signed six arms procurement offers from the US totaling more than NT$208 billion (US$6.59 billion) covering long-range precision strike systems, missile stockpile replenishment and joint production of large-caliber ammunition, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The government’s proposed NT$1.25 trillion special defense budget has been stalled in the Legislative Yuan as opposition lawmakers question the amount and procurement items, while the Presidential Office and defense ministry say that the full amount is necessary to safeguard Taiwan. Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) on Monday briefed the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on the defense budget for
RSS