Yao Eng-chi (
The TSEA was submitted to the Senate by Republican Jessie Helms, Chairman of the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee, and Democrat Robert Torricelli on March 24. The same bill was submitted to the House by Republican majority whip Tom Delay in the middle of May. The Act would authorize the sale to Taiwan of a broad array of defense items, and provide for stronger US-Taiwan security cooperation. From the outset, the US administration was opposed to TSEA on the grounds that the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) has served well, and there is no need for a new law. The administration also suggested that TSEA would harm Taiwan's security. But members of the Congress feel that the administration has not faithfully carried out the TRA over the past 20 years.
The US government, afraid of offending Beijing, has delayed and denied numerous weapons procurement requests from Taiwan, saying that Taiwan does not need the weapons. For example, the US finally agreed to sell F-16s to Taiwan after procrastinating for 15 years, but even then these planes were not equipped with laser-targeting pods, medium-range air-to-air missiles and air-to-ground Maverick G missiles, or other state-of-the-art equipment. The US has also refused to supply Taiwan with submarines despite 20 years of persistent requests from Taiwan. Would the addition of a few submarines to Taiwan's navy threaten China's security? Washington's reasons for refusal have not been convincing.
The TRA clearly states that Congress and the administration should jointly determine the nature and amount of arms supplied to Taiwan, but the administration has been the sole determinant of arms sales to Taiwan since 1979. This is another reason there is support in Congress for a new act.
The House is expected to pass the TSEA soon, but there are still not enough votes for its passage in the Senate. It is understood that congressional supporters of TSEA hope that House passage will pressure the administration. They want the administration to provide Taiwan with land- and sea-based anti-ballistic missile systems, and related detection and communication systems, satellite early warning data, advanced anti-aircraft equipment, including AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, new models of fighters and AWACS; naval defensive systems, including sea-to-air missile systems like that of the Aegis-class destroyer, and diesel-powered submarines and surface and underwater anti-submarine weapon systems, which would allow Taiwan to neutralize the threat of China's Russian-made Kilo-class submarines and its own advanced subs.
The Pentagon's report "The Security Situation in the Taiwan Strait," submitted to Congress this February, shows that the military balance between China and Taiwan has begun to tip in China's favor. China has spent an enormous amount of resources modernizing its armed forces over the past decade, and has deployed M-class missiles targeted at Taiwan. The TSEA is an attempt to deal with this clear and immediate threat, by removing the restrictions placed on arms sales to Taiwan and bolstering Taiwan's national defense.
Another goal of the bill is to establish a security and military relationship between the US and Taiwan. There have been no joint military exercises between the US and Taiwan since the US severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nor have the two militaries been able to communicate directly to discuss threat assessments and response strategies. This situation is not beneficial to military cooperation between the US and Taiwan in the case China uses force against the island.
The TSEA therefore includes a clause requiring the Secretary of Defense to establish secure direct communications links between the US Pacific military command and the Taiwan military command, and to strengthen military personnel exchanges between Taiwan and the US (including general and flag officers). This would allow more officers from Taiwan to attend US National Defense University, war colleges, and command and staff colleges, and increase the number of military personnel stationed at the American Institute in Taiwan.
Beijing is expected to strongly oppose the TSEA, and the US State Department is also against the bill. A pitched battle is expected in Congress over the Act, and the outcome is far from certain.
The impression I got while in Washington with other legislators was that Taiwan's government representatives stationed there did not seriously lobby for the bill. A friend of mine on Capitol Hill told me that the government has spent less than one-tenth the resources and energy on the bill compared with what was expended to secure President Lee Teng-hui's (
Officials at the TECRO have been warned by the US administration to refrain from lobbying in Congress. It is ludicrous that Taiwan's diplomats have to get permission from the US State Department to lobby on such an important issue as Taiwan's security.
Taiwan's military officials meet with US Defense and State Department officials in Washington each spring to discuss arms procurements. Many friends of Taiwan in the US feel that Taiwan's weapons procurement plans are designed to "award" its army, navy, and air force with some hardware, instead of asking for integrated weapon systems that answer Taiwan's defense needs. The reasons for Taiwan's hardware requests are not well presented and arguments often not convincing enough. We should look carefully at these problems.
Parris Chang is a DPP legislator.
The Chinese government on March 29 sent shock waves through the Tibetan Buddhist community by announcing the untimely death of one of its most revered spiritual figures, Hungkar Dorje Rinpoche. His sudden passing in Vietnam raised widespread suspicion and concern among his followers, who demanded an investigation. International human rights organization Human Rights Watch joined their call and urged a thorough investigation into his death, highlighting the potential involvement of the Chinese government. At just 56 years old, Rinpoche was influential not only as a spiritual leader, but also for his steadfast efforts to preserve and promote Tibetan identity and cultural
Former minister of culture Lung Ying-tai (龍應台) has long wielded influence through the power of words. Her articles once served as a moral compass for a society in transition. However, as her April 1 guest article in the New York Times, “The Clock Is Ticking for Taiwan,” makes all too clear, even celebrated prose can mislead when romanticism clouds political judgement. Lung crafts a narrative that is less an analysis of Taiwan’s geopolitical reality than an exercise in wistful nostalgia. As political scientists and international relations academics, we believe it is crucial to correct the misconceptions embedded in her article,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
RSS