The US Congress on Monday passed an appropriations bill for the next fiscal year that included the Taiwan Assurance Act.
The act would regularize arms sales and transfers to Taiwan, support the nation’s participation in international bodies and require the US Department of State to review its guidance regarding Taiwan-US relations.
US President Donald Trump is expected to sign the appropriations bill into law when it arrives on his desk in the coming days, CNN reported.
US representatives Eliot Engel and Michael McCaul, a Democrat and Republican respectively, sponsored the act in April last year and the House of Representatives unanimously passed it on May 7.
The legislation was then attached to the appropriations bill before passing its final congressional votes yesterday.
US Senator Tom Cotton separately sponsored a different version of the bill that was not voted upon.
The act states that it is the sense of the US Congress that the Department of State’s guidance regarding Taiwan “should be crafted with the intent to deepen and to expand US-Taiwan relations.”
The US should carry out regular transfers and sales of defensive articles to Taiwan to strengthen its self-defense capabilities, especially with regard to asymmetric warfare capabilities, including undersea warfare and air defense, it states.
As a matter of policy, the US should advocate Taiwan’s “meaningful participation” in the UN, the World Health Assembly, the International Civil Aviation Organization, Interpol and other international organizations, it states.
The US should also advocate for Taiwan’s membership in the Food and Agriculture Organization, UNESCO and other international organizations for which statehood is not a requirement, it states.
The US Secretary of State is to review the department’s guidance governing US-Taiwan relations, including the document entitled “Guidelines on Relations with Taiwan,” no less than 180 days from the act being signed into law and make a report to the US Congress, the act states.
The appropriations bill also budgeted US$3 million for Taiwan-US collaboration via the Global Cooperation and Training Framework.
The framework facilitates international collaborations on public health, law enforcement, disaster relief, energy, women’s empowerment, media literacy and cybersecurity.
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