The US should create an interagency committee under the president to develop options and plans for sanctioning China in the event that Beijing takes hostile action against Taiwan, a US congressional advisory panel said on Tuesday.
The conclusion was one of 10 recommendations made by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission in an annual report to the US Congress.
Congress should “enact legislation creating a permanent interagency committee in the executive branch” charged with developing plans for sanctions or other economic measures in the event of “a Chinese attack, blockade or other hostile action against Taiwan,” the report said.
Photo: AFP
The committee would also evaluate the economic and political consequences of the plans and coordinate between agencies to implement them, it said.
It also said that Congress should instruct the Pentagon to draft a report on how the US can bolster its “capacity to resist force” in the event of a Chinese attack and an attempted invasion of Taiwan.
Congress should also make available “significant additional multiyear defense funds” for a planning group of Taiwan and US defense officials to identify “interoperable and complementary capabilities” needed for Taiwan’s defense, and urge Taipei to commit funds to procure its share of those capabilities, it said.
The commission also reviewed developments in Taiwan over the past year in one of the report’s five main chapters.
Discussing the effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the panel said that China’s main takeaways were likely to be on the importance of managing information, mitigating the impact of potential sanctions and learning from the performance of Russia’s military.
Based on Ukraine’s experience in defending against Russia, Taiwanese leaders might conclude that they must adopt an asymmetric warfare strategy, involve civilians in resistance efforts and build stockpiles of critical materials, the report said.
While Taiwan’s economy showed resilience this year, its vulnerability to Beijing’s coercion has come into greater focus, as the threat of “a Chinese blockade looms over the island’s reliance on imported energy and food,” it said.
The 785-page report also included chapters on Chinese Communist Party decisionmaking, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) centralization of authority, US-China economic and trade relations, US-China security and foreign affairs, and Hong Kong.
The commission is an independent government agency comprised of 12 commissioners who are appointed to two-year terms by the majority and minority leaders of the US Senate, and by the speaker of the US House of Representatives.
DEATH THREAT: A MAC official said that it has urged Beijing to avoid creating barriers that would impede exchanges across the Strait, but it continues to do so People should avoid unnecessary travel to China after Beijing issued 22 guidelines allowing its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death “Taiwan independence separatists,” the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday as it raised its travel alert for China, including Hong Kong and Macau, to “orange.” The guidelines published last week “severely threaten the personal safety of Taiwanese traveling to China, Hong Kong and Macau,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a news conference in Taipei. “Following a comprehensive assessment, the government considers it necessary to elevate the travel alert to orange from yellow,” Liang said. Beijing has
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday said that the Chinese Communist Party was planning and implementing “major” reforms, ahead of a political conclave that is expected to put economic recovery high on the agenda. Chinese policymakers have struggled to reignite growth since late 2022, when restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted. The world’s second-largest economy is beset by a debt crisis in the property sector, persistently low consumption and high unemployment among young people. Policymakers “are planning and implementing major measures to further deepen reform in a comprehensive manner,” Xi said in a speech at the Great Hall
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
DETERRENCE: Along with US$500 million in military aid and up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees, the bill would allocate US$400 million to countering PRC influence The US House of Representatives on Friday approved an appropriations bill for fiscal year 2025 that includes US$500 million in military aid for Taiwan. The legislation, which authorizes funding for the US Department of State, US foreign operations and related programs for next year, passed 212-200 in the Republican-led House. The bill stipulates that the US would provide no less than US$500 million in foreign military financing for Taiwan to enhance deterrence across the Taiwan Strait, and offer Taipei up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees for the same purpose. The funding would be made available under the US’ Foreign Military