A US Senate committee on Wednesday approved the Taiwan policy act of 2022, which would significantly enhance US military support for Taiwan, including provisions for billions of dollars in additional security assistance, as China increases military pressure on the nation.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee backed the bill 17 to 5.
Some of the bill’s original proposals — including renaming the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in Washington, requiring senate approval for Washington’s envoy to Taipei and designating the country a “major non-NATO ally” — were either removed or made nonbinding in the wake of misgivings from the White House.
Photo: AFP
The updated bill still includes provisions authorizing up to US$6.5 billion in grants from next year to 2027 for Taipei to purchase US arms.
Sponsors said the bill would be the most comprehensive restructuring of US policy toward Taiwan since the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 — the bedrock of US engagement with Taiwan since Washington opened up relations with Beijing that year.
US lawmakers moved ahead on the act amid heightened worries for Taiwan after Russia invaded Ukraine, and following a visit to Taipei by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which prompted China to stage major military exercises seen as a trial run for an invasion.
US Senator Bob Menendez, who leads the committee and is a member of US President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party, said that the US “does not seek war or heightened tensions with Beijing,” but needs to be “clear-eyed.”
“We are carefully and strategically lowering the existential threats facing Taiwan by raising the cost of taking the island by force so that it becomes too high a risk and unachievable,” Menendez said.
US Senator Jim Risch, the top Republican on the committee, said it is “imperative we take action now to bolster Taiwan’s self-defense before it’s too late.”
Asked about modifications in the revised bill, Menendez said the changes were “minor” compared to provisions on defense assistance, which the senator described as “the core of the bill” alongside clauses relating to international forums and economic engagement.
Although stopping short of designating Taiwan as a “major non-NATO ally” — which would have provided it the same status as Australia, Israel, Japan and South Korea with regards to expediting arms sales — the revised bill states that the country “shall be treated as though it were designated a major non-NATO ally for the purposes of the transfer or possible transfer of defense.”
The committee’s approval paved the way for a vote in the full US Senate, but there has been no word on when that might take place. To become law, it must also pass the US House of Representatives and be signed by the president, or win enough support to override a veto.
The Taiwan bill is likely to be folded into a larger piece of legislation expected to pass late this year, such as the National Defense Authorization Act, an annual bill setting policy for the US Department of Defense.
China said yesterday that the bill “sent serious wrong signals to Taiwan independence and separatist forces.”
If the bill continues to move forward, “it will greatly shake the political foundation of China-US relations, and will have extremely serious consequences for ... peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning (毛寧) said at a briefing in Beijing.
SEE OFFICE PAGE 3
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
PEACE AND STABILITY: Maintaining the cross-strait ‘status quo’ has long been the government’s position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan is committed to maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” and seeks no escalation of tensions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, rebutting a Time magazine opinion piece that described President William Lai (賴清德) as a “reckless leader.” The article, titled “The US Must Beware of Taiwan’s Reckless Leader,” was written by Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Defense Priorities think tank. Goldstein wrote that Taiwan is “the world’s most dangerous flashpoint” amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that the situation in the Taiwan Strait has become less stable
CONCESSION: A Shin Kong official said that the firm was ‘willing to contribute’ to the nation, as the move would enable Nvidia Crop to build its headquarters in Taiwan Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday said it would relinquish land-use rights, or known as surface rights, for two plots in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), paving the way for Nvidia Corp to expand its office footprint in Taiwan. The insurer said it made the decision “in the interest of the nation’s greater good” and would not seek compensation from taxpayers for potential future losses, calling the move a gesture to resolve a months-long impasse among the insurer, the Taipei City Government and the US chip giant. “The decision was made on the condition that the Taipei City Government reimburses the related
FRESH LOOK: A committee would gather expert and public input on the themes and visual motifs that would appear on the notes, the central bank governor said The central bank has launched a comprehensive redesign of New Taiwan dollar banknotes to enhance anti-counterfeiting measures, improve accessibility and align the bills with global sustainability standards, Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) told a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday. The overhaul would affect all five denominations — NT$100, NT$200, NT$500, NT$1,000 and NT$2,000 notes — but not coins, Yang said. It would be the first major update to the banknotes in 24 years, as the current series, introduced in 2001, has remained in circulation amid rapid advances in printing technology and security standards. “Updating the notes is essential to safeguard the integrity
RSS