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.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
NOT IMMEDIATE: Taiwan has a chance to appeal the proposed 10 percent tariff before it starts, while other countries face a 12.5 percent tariff from the trade office Taiwan is among 60 economies determined by the US to have failed to impose or enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labor, according to a notice released on Tuesday by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), which proposed imposing an additional 10 percent or more tariff on them. The USTR in a statement said that following an investigation, it had determined under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 that the failure of the 60 economies to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor is
TIT-FOR-TAT: The US allegedly revoked the visa of a Chinese national working at Xinhua News Agency in the US in response to Beijing’s expulsion of Vivian Wang The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China for expelling a New York Times correspondent from Beijing following the newspaper’s interview with President William Lai (賴清德), saying the move highlighted Beijing’s suppression of press freedom and its threat to international news media. Taiwan has noted a series of recent incidents in which Beijing used similar tactics to “threaten and pressure international media outlets and journalists,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a statement. “This concerns not only press freedom and freedom of expression, but also the safety of journalists, and Taiwan and relevant partners are paying close attention to the situation,” she
RSS