The US House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) yesterday released a bipartisan report titled Ten More for Taiwan identifying urgent, near-term steps to deter Chinese aggression.
Committee Chair John Moolenaar and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi built on the original Ten for Taiwan report from May 2023.
Ten More for Taiwan “makes explicit that Taiwan is not — and will not be — a bargaining chip with the Chinese Communist Party,” Krishnamoorthi said.
Photo: CNA
Since the previous report, the CCP has “increased the risk of conflict over Taiwan, underscoring the need to deepen US-Taiwan economic, defense and political cooperation to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” the committee said in a statement.
Taiwan has “only grown more essential” to US prosperity, as it was Washington’s seventh-largest trading partner last year, is a key link in global supply chains and an important investor in the US, the report said.
“[Chinese President] Xi Jinping (習近平) has ordered his military to be ready to take Taiwan by 2027 if necessary, so 2026 is an urgent year to build deterrence in the Taiwan Strait,” Moolenaar said.
This means increasing weapons stockpiles, enhancing logistics capabilities and creating dilemmas for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), he said.
The 10 actions include affirming the US’ commitment to Taiwanese security and deepening economic ties with the nation by advancing and completing trade, tax, travel and technology agreements, continuing exchanges and pushing investment.
The US Congress should pass legislation to deter Chinese economic coercion and protect critical supply chains, it said.
The US should also expand and streamline security assistance to Taiwan using mutually beneficial defense industrial cooperation programs and mitigate supply chain dependencies on China.
Moreover, it should improve air and missile defense capabilities, accelerate regional infrastructure and integrate with allies, including Japan and the Philippines, to establish intelligence-sharing initiatives and multilateral exercises, it said.
The report also highlighted the importance of aiding Taiwan in diversifying its energy supply with increased imports of liquid natural gas.
Taiwan’s civil defense and military training cooperation with the US needs to be enhanced, the report said.
Finally, the US should impose costs on China over its ties with Russia, while strengthening readiness against authoritarian threats, it said, adding that Beijing is the chief enabler of the Kremlin’s war machine through its “no limits” partnership with Moscow.
The US should learn lessons from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as China is closely monitoring the outcome of the war, the report said.
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A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
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