The US’ Taiwan policy act on Sept. 14 was approved by the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee by a vote of 17 to 5. The administration of US President Joe Biden has kept a close eye on its progress before it enters the US Congress for a vote.
The act was approved with slight modifications, reflecting a compromise between the US legislative and executive branches, and the final version released by the committee likely adheres to the stance of the Biden administration, as well as Democratic and Republican Party positions.
The smooth completion of its lawmaking process is just a matter of time.
When the act was made public, pro-unification voices in Taiwan came out to smear and slander it. Some tried to deceive fellow Taiwanese with intentional mistranslations, some misinterpreted the US’ intention to defend Taiwan, while others tried to imply that the act reflects only the will of the US Senate rather than the US government.
However, as deceptive as these fallacies might be, they cannot change an established US strategy that has long been determined.
If passed, the act would require the US Department of Defense to submit an annual Taiwan defense report on the premise of a “denial strategy.”
There is a fundamental difference between “denial” and “deterrence.” The US’ strategy to prevent China from attacking Taiwan has shifted from deterrence to denial, and the Taiwan policy act would only formalize what is already an implicit strategy.
Deterrence is to use strength and power to prevent an adversary from taking a desired action. Under a denial strategy, the US would continue to assist Taiwan in improving its self-defense capabilities.
The act says that the US would provide military assistance at no cost to help Taiwan develop asymmetric combat capabilities and enhance Taiwan’s international status.
The intention is to make it increasingly difficult for China to threaten Taiwan so that it will cease trying. This is also the reason Biden has said four times that the US would defend Taiwan if attacked.
During his visit to Japan in May, Biden said that he would be willing to use force to defend Taiwan, which many interpreted as a gaffe.
However, as he has continued to state the same point, it is obvious that what he said in Japan was no slip of the tongue. Biden intends to make the denial strategy clear.
The latest example came during an interview on the 60 Minutes television program aired on Sept. 15.
When asked if US forces would defend Taiwan against an attack, Biden firmly replied: “Yes.”
The US has learned from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that making it clear that aggression is not tolerated is the best way to avoid war and maintain peace. Facing China’s intention to attack Taiwan, the US has come to realize that the vague strategy of the past could no longer work. It must clearly make China understand that if it makes reckless moves against Taiwan, the US would send troops to defend it.
Taiwan should certainly be self-reliant as well. With the help of the US military, Taiwan should more actively strengthen its combat capabilities and strive to improve its international status.
Some Taiwanese interpreted Biden’s remarks on 60 Minutes as not supporting Taiwanese independence.
“Taiwan makes their own judgements about their independence,” Biden said.
Based on the principle of national self-determination, Taiwan’s independence requires Taiwanese to express their will, which is not for the US to do.
“That’s their decision,” Biden said, showing respect for Taiwanese.
Now, Taiwanese should consider that it is time to show the will to assert self-determination.
Tommy Lin is director of Wu Fu Eye Clinic and president of the Formosa Republican Association.
Translated by Lin Lee-kai
When Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) sits down with US President Donald Trump in Beijing on Thursday next week, Xi is unlikely to demand a dramatic public betrayal of Taiwan. He does not need to. Beijing’s preferred victory is smaller, quieter and in some ways far more dangerous: a subtle shift in American wording that appears technical, but carries major strategic meaning. The ask is simple: replace the longstanding US formulation that Washington “does not support Taiwan independence” with a harder one — that Washington “opposes” Taiwan independence. One word changes; a deterrence structure built over decades begins to shift.
The cancelation this week of President William Lai’s (賴清德) state visit to Eswatini, after the Seychelles, Madagascar and Mauritius revoked overflight permits under Chinese pressure, is one more measure of Taiwan’s shrinking executive diplomatic space. Another channel that deserves attention keeps growing while the first contracts. For several years now, Taipei has been one of Europe’s busiest legislative destinations. Where presidents and foreign ministers cannot land, parliamentarians do — and they do it in rising numbers. The Italian parliament opened the year with its largest bipartisan delegation to Taiwan to date: six Italian deputies and one senator, drawn from six
Recently, Taipei’s streets have been plagued by the bizarre sight of rats running rampant and the city government’s countermeasures have devolved into an anti-intellectual farce. The Taipei Parks and Street Lights Office has attempted to eradicate rats by filling their burrows with polyurethane foam, seeming to believe that rats could not simply dig another path out. Meanwhile, as the nation’s capital slowly deteriorates into a rat hive, the Taipei Department of Environmental Protection has proudly pointed to the increase in the number of poisoned rats reported in February and March as a sign of success. When confronted with public concerns over young
Taipei is facing a severe rat infestation, and the city government is reportedly considering large-scale use of rodenticides as its primary control measure. However, this move could trigger an ecological disaster, including mass deaths of birds of prey. In the past, black kites, relatives of eagles, took more than three decades to return to the skies above the Taipei Basin. Taiwan’s black kite population was nearly wiped out by the combined effects of habitat destruction, pesticides and rodenticides. By 1992, fewer than 200 black kites remained on the island. Fortunately, thanks to more than 30 years of collective effort to preserve their remaining
RSS