The US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations yesterday passed a bill that would require the US Department of State to review guidance on relations with Taiwan at least every five years and submit a report to Congress.
The “Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act” must still be passed by the full US Senate and House of Representatives before being signed into law by the president.
The committee yesterday reviewed the bipartisan bill, proposed by Republican Senator John Cornyn and Democratic Senator Chris Coons on March 3.
Photo: AFP
A bill of the same name was passed by the US House of Representatives in 2023 with an overwhelming majority, allowing the US secretary of state to review guidelines on US-Taiwan relations and report to Congress at least every two years.
This latest bill provides more specific timelines and measures, and would implement amendments to the 2020 Taiwan Assurance Act.
The bill would require the secretary of state to periodically review related documents, including the periodic memorandum “Guidelines on Relations with Taiwan,” and reissue guidance to executive branch departments and agencies within 90 days.
An updated report would then be submitted to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives.
In US President Donald Trump’s first term, he removed self-imposed restrictions on US-Taiwan relations, although some were reinstated when former US president Joe Biden took office.
During Trump’s first term, then-US secretary of health and human services Alex Azar led a delegation to Taiwan in 2020, becoming the highest-ranking US cabinet official to visit since the US severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1979.
However, in the past four years under Biden, diplomatic visits have been limited to officials such as then-American Institute in Taiwan chair Laura Rosenberger.
With avid Taiwan supporter Marco Rubio now serving as secretary of state, there is speculation that self-imposed restrictions would be lifted.
“The threat China poses to the stability of the Indo-Pacific, including our friend and ally Taiwan, is ever-evolving, and our diplomatic guidance must be able to keep up,” Coons said when introducing the bill.
“Our commitment to Taiwan must be backed by an approach that evolves with the changing realities in the Indo-Pacific,” he added.
A bipartisan group of House lawmakers introduced a companion bill late last month, although a voting schedule is yet to be announced.
Earlier this week, Democratic Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi and Republican Senator John Curtis stated plans to reintroduce the “Taiwan Allies Fund Act” during the current term.
The new legislation would authorize "key development aid to countries that have official or strong unofficial relations with Taiwan," Krishnamoorthi said.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
RSS