Two US senators on Thursday introduced a bill to significantly enhance support for Taiwan, including provisions for billions of US dollars in security assistance and changes to a decades-old law undergirding Washington’s unofficial ties with Taipei.
The US, which accuses China of ramping up military coercion toward Taiwan, is its main supporter and arms supplier, a point of increasing friction between Washington and Beijing, whose relations are already at their lowest point in decades.
The senators’ draft Taiwan policy act threatens severe sanctions against China for any aggression against Taiwan and would provide US$4.5 billion in foreign military financing over the next four years, as well as designate Taiwan a “major non-NATO ally,” the bill said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The sponsors — US Senator Bob Menendez, who chairs the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and US Senator Lindsey Graham — said it would be the most comprehensive restructuring of US policy toward Taiwan since the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, which has since the US opened relations with Beijing been the bedrock of Washington’s engagement with Taiwan.
“As Beijing continues to seek to coerce and isolate Taiwan, there should be no doubt or ambiguity about the depth and strength of our determination to stand with the people of Taiwan and their democracy,” Menendez said in a statement.
He said the bill sent a clear message that China should not make the same mistakes Russia made in invading Ukraine.
“The danger will only grow worse if we show weakness in the face of Chinese threats and aggression toward Taiwan,” Graham said.
Senate aides said the pair hoped to have the committee vote to send the bill to the senate floor as early as next week.
China’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the proposed legislation.
One US official familiar with the bill said some of its elements made US President Joe Biden’s administration and the US Department of State uneasy given concerns it could antagonize China.
Any legislation would also have to pass the US House of Representatives, and another expansive bill intended to boost US competitiveness with China has been languishing in the US Congress for months.
The White House and state department did not respond to a request for comment.
Should it become law as currently written, the bill would “prioritize and expedite” arms sales to Taiwan until Congress determines the threat to the nation has significantly abated, as well as direct the US secretary of defense to establish a training program to increase Taiwan and US armed forces interoperability.
The US president would be required to impose sanctions on Chinese officials, including its president, in response to “significant escalation in hostile action in or against Taiwan,” such as undermining or overthrowing the government or occupying the nation.
It would amend parts of the Taiwan Relations Act, including by adding that US arms provisions to Taiwan be “conducive to deterring acts of aggression” by China.
It would also push the state department to seek negotiations to rename Taiwan’s de facto embassy in Washington the “Taiwan Representative Office” and would elevate the role of Washington’s top official in Taiwan by requiring Senate confirmation for the post.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked the senators for proposing the legislation.
The bill, sponsored by heavyweights of both major US parties, demonstrated that support for Taiwan has, at least in the US Congress, superseded party lines, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said.
The bill is seeking to warm US-Taiwan ties across all sectors, strengthen the countries’ bilateral security and trade relations, support increased Taiwanese participation on international affairs, and counteract Chinese oppression, she said.
Taiwan would continue to work closely with the US to foster peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, Ou added.
Addiitonal reporting by Yang Cheng-yu
INCREASED RISK: The Omicron BA.2.75 subvariant has higher immune evasive capacity, but the CECC is more concerned about newer subvariants such as XBB and BQ.1 With the peak season for infectious respiratory diseases coming to an end, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday said that details of the next phase of lifting COVID-19 masking rules — removing the mask requirement in most indoor settings — are to be announced this week. Discussions on lifting other COVID-19 restrictions are also being held, including further easing border control measures, home isolation requirements and revising the definition for reporting cases, while also downgrading COVID-19 to a lower category of notifiable communicable disease, said Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝), who heads the CECC. As the daily
CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT: A new committee would investigate a backlog of US weapons sales to Taiwan, said its chairman, US Representative Mike Gallagher The US should formally recognize Taiwan as an independent nation, and end its outdated and counterproductive “one China” policy, US Representative Tom Tiffany and 18 other US lawmakers wrote in a petition. “It is time to change the status quo and recognize the reality denied by the US government for decades: Taiwan is an independent nation,” Tiffany told the Epoch Times. “As our long-standing and valued partner, correctly acknowledging their independence from communist China is long overdue.” The resolution also asks the administration of US President Joe Biden to support Taiwan’s membership in international organizations and to negotiate a bilateral free-trade
GUT FEELING: In the leaked memo, US Air Force General Mike Minihan urged mobile command personnel to go to a firing range, shoot at a target and ‘aim for the head’ A four-star US Air Force general has warned of a conflict with China as early as 2025 — most likely over Taiwan — and urged his commanders to push their units to achieve maximum operational battle readiness this year. In an internal memorandum that first emerged on social media on Friday, and was later confirmed as genuine by the Pentagon, Air Mobility Command Commander General Mike Minihan said that the main goal should be to deter “and, if required, defeat” China. “I hope I am wrong. My gut tells me we will fight in 2025,” Minihan said. Minihan said that Taiwan’s presidential election
DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM: Czech president-elect Petr Pavel said his nation stands firmly on the side of democracy and would boost cooperation with Taipei in all aspects Czech president-elect Petr Pavel spoke by telephone with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday, a highly unusual move given the lack of formal ties and a diplomatic coup for Taipei. Tsai spoke with Pavel for 15 minutes in a harmonious atmosphere, Presidential Office spokeswoman Lin Yu-chan (林聿禪) said, adding that Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) was also present during the conversation. Lin quoted Pavel as telling Tsai that Taiwan is a trustworthy partner, adding that the Czech Republic stands firmly on the side of democracy and supports Taiwan in maintaining a lively democratic system free from authoritarian coercion. The Czech Republic would