The US House of Representatives Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the US and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on Tuesday made 10 policy recommendations to preserve peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
The committee unanimously agreed on the proposed “Ten for Taiwan,” the first report passed since the panel was formed in January.
The proposal follows the committee’s wargame last month, in which “members saw the terrifying result of what happens when deterrence fails,” said US Representative Mike Gallagher, who chairs the committee.
Photo: REUTERS
To ensure this scenario remains fictional, the committee voted to adopt the report, “which will surge hard power across the international dateline and strengthen deterrence in the Taiwan Strait,” he added.
The committee “will continue operating in a bipartisan way to send a message that we are committed to deterrence in the Taiwan Strait,” Gallagher and US Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi said in a joint statement.
Taiwan is “a cornerstone of the global economy and a vital partner of the US,” the report said, adding that it is “in the political, security and economic interests” of the US to deter Chinese military aggression toward Taiwan.
The report called for more long-range missiles and uncrewed vehicles in the Indo-Pacific region, and expedited provision of weapons to Taiwan.
It also said that resupplying Taiwan would be difficult in the event of a CCP blockade, so Taiwan’s military stockpiles should be expanded, and economic vulnerability reduced.
The US should have a defined operational command and control structure for contingency response, and should coordinate with its allies on diplomatic and economic plans for a possible Taiwan crisis, it said.
It called on the US to establish a joint force headquarters or joint task force focused on crisis contingency command and control, as stipulated by the US National Defense Authorization Act.
Taiwan and the US should improve combined military training to bolster deterrence, as the forces on the two sides “do not currently plan or operate in an integrated manner,” it said.
The report said that Taiwan faces consistent cyberattacks from China, and Taiwan and the US are vulnerable in the cyberdomain.
The US should improve cybersecurity at its ports and protect maritime port supply chains, as well as help Taiwan do the same by passing the bipartisan Taiwan cybersecurity resiliency act, it said.
If China were to invade Taiwan, the world would face an economic crisis, as semiconductor supplies would be devastated, it said.
“Taiwan is a linchpin of America’s ability to defend its allies, particularly Japan and the Philippines,” it said, adding that a Chinese invasion could cause US allies to doubt its security commitments and give Beijing a favorable geographic position to obstruct the US’ action in the region.
“The committee’s goal is peace, not provocation,” it said.
In related news, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) yesterday said that the main reason for the delay in the delivery of F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin Corp is that the company had “corrected and improved” the jet’s flight-control software.
Bloomberg on Wednesday reported that the US Air Force had cited “complex developmental challenges” as the source of the delay, which the air force’s statement did not elaborate on.
Taiwan is waiting on delivery of 66 Block 70 F-16 jets.
While similar to the Block 20 F-16V jets already in operation, the newer Block 70 jets have upgraded aviation electronics and radar systems, which is why the delivery has been delayed, Chiu said.
However, the US Department of Defense has appointed a high-level project supervisor to ensure that Lockheed would deliver the 66 jets by 2026 as scheduled, he said.
Asked whether a domestically built submarine would be ready by September, Chiu said the military and contractor were working to launch it as soon as possible, but that safety would be the deciding factor.
Additional reporting by CNA
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
THUGGISH BEHAVIOR: Encouraging people to report independence supporters is another intimidation tactic that threatens cross-strait peace, the state department said China setting up an online system for reporting “Taiwanese independence” advocates is an “irresponsible and reprehensible” act, a US government spokesperson said on Friday. “China’s call for private individuals to report on alleged ‘persecution or suppression’ by supposed ‘Taiwan independence henchmen and accomplices’ is irresponsible and reprehensible,” an unnamed US Department of State spokesperson told the Central News Agency in an e-mail. The move is part of Beijing’s “intimidation campaign” against Taiwan and its supporters, and is “threatening free speech around the world, destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region, and deliberately eroding the cross-strait status quo,” the spokesperson said. The Chinese Communist Party’s “threats
RSS