The US House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday unanimously passed a resolution reaffirming the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) and the “six assurances” as the “cornerstone of US-Taiwan relations.”
The resolution is to go before the full House, where it is expected to pass without difficulty.
The resolution is significant because it reinforces US policy and underlines US support for Taiwan at a time when relations with China are becoming increasingly edgy over Beijing’s militarization of the South China Sea.
US Representative Brad Sherman, a Democrat, said that Taiwan is an important ally and the US Congress needed to do everything possible to make sure that it remains that way.
Sherman said that former US president Ronald Reagan issued the “six assurances” in 1982, stipulating that the US will not set an end date to arms sales to Taiwan, will not alter the TRA, will not hold consultations with China over arms sales to Taiwan, will not mediate between Taiwan and China, will not pressure Taiwan to negotiate with China and will not formally recognize Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan.
The “six assurances” had been a verbal pledge and the resolution solidified the commitment in legislation for the first time, Sherman said.
He said the resolution urges the US president and the US Department of State to affirm the “six assurances” “publicly, proactively and consistently” as a cornerstone of US-Taiwan relations.
“This is an exciting time for Taiwanese,” said US Representative Eliot Engel, the committee’s ranking Democrat.
He said that he is “very hopeful” about the success of president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
“As Taiwan’s democracy prepares for a political transition, it’s important that the US signals its unwavering support for Taiwan’s defense, for its participation on the global stage, for its robust democracy,” Engel said.
US Representative Ed Royce, the committee’s Republican chairman, said that the US Congress had “long championed” a strong relationship with Taiwan and had pressed successive administrations to fulfill their obligation to sell defensive arms to Taiwan.
US Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, another Republican, said that the US must remain fully and firmly committed to the TRA and the “six assurances” and that Taiwan is a major ally, friend and security partner of the US.
“Taiwan must have the capability to defend itself from aggression from China whether of a political, economic or military nature, and it is critical that both Taiwan and China know our commitment to Taiwan has not wavered one bit,” she said.
US Representative Matt Salmon, a Republican, said that he would be attending Tsai’s inauguration ceremony next month and that Taiwan’s democracy is incredibly important to the region as a “guidepost” for other nations to follow.
US Representative Steve Chabot, the Republican who introduced the resolution, said that Taiwan faced an unrelenting threat from China and that China had about 1,600 ballistic missiles aimed at Taiwan.
Chabot said it is very important for both Taiwan and the US to build up their military forces.
The one thing that will make armed conflict more likely is weakness, Chabot said.
“As long as Taiwan and the US are strong, I don’t think China will ever take any overt military action,” he said.
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
As eight basketball-playing international students appealed to the Taiwanese basketball industry after they were excluded from the draft of an upcoming new league merging the P.League+ and the T1 League, the new league’s preparatory committee spokesperson Chang Shu-jen (張樹人) yesterday said the committee would tomorrow discuss the supplementary measures and whether the international students can join the draft. The students on Tuesday called for support on their right to play in the upcoming new league, after a merger involving the two leagues impacted their eligibility for the draft. The international players from the University Basketball Association (UBA), led by first pick prospect
WARNING: China has stepped up harassment of foreign vessels after its new regulation took effect last month, an official said, citing an incident in the Diaoyutai Islands The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday linked China’s seizure of a Taiwanese fishing vessel illegally operating in its territorial waters to Beijing’s new regulation authorizing the China Coast Guard to seize boats in waters it claims. Chinese officials boarded and then seized a Taiwanese fishing vessel operating near China’s coast close to Kinmen County late on Tuesday and took it to a Chinese port, the CGA said. The Penghu-registered squid fishing vessel Da Jin Man No. 88 (大進滿88) was boarded and seized by China Coast Guard east-northeast of Liaoluo Bay (料羅灣), 17.5 nautical miles (32.4km) from Taiwan’s restricted waters off Kinmen,
Some foreign companies are considering moving Taiwanese employees out of China after Beijing said it could impose the death penalty on “die-hard” Taiwanese independence advocates, four people familiar with the matter said. The new guidelines have caused some Taiwanese expatriates and foreign multinationals operating in China to scramble to assess their legal risks and exposure, said the people, who include a lawyer and two executives with direct knowledge of the discussions. “Several companies have come to us to assess the risks to their personnel,” said the lawyer, James Zimmerman, a Beijing-based partner at the Perkins Coie law firm. He declined to identify