US representatives have introduced a bipartisan Taiwan Peace Through Strength Act to promote peace through strength in Taiwan, as well as expedite and prioritize US military sales to the nation.
US representatives Chris Pappas, a Democrat, and Jim Banks, a Republican, on Friday last week proposed the House’s version of the bill, following the US Senate’s version proposed by US Senator Marco Rubio on June 14.
The bill proposes “to reinforce our nation’s support of Taiwan as the island faces the increased threat of a Chinese Communist Party military attack,” a press release issued by Pappas’ office said.
Photo: Reuters
“This legislation would prioritize Taiwan’s resiliency in the face of potential conflicts and expedite the delivery of much-needed resources to ensure they have the capability to defend themselves effectively,” Pappas was quoted as saying.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) “extreme rhetoric makes it clear that lawmakers in Washington must act now to deter a Chinese invasion,” Banks said.
“Make no mistake: deterring an invasion of Taiwan must be our top priority,” Rubio said.
While the text of the proposed bill is not yet available, it would expedite and prioritize US military sales to Taiwan; establish regular combined US-Taiwan exercises, training and professional exchanges; and establish a Taiwan Critical Munitions Acquisition Fund, the press release said.
The proposed bill also clarifies that US authorities would arm Taiwan as per the Taiwan Relations Act, it added.
The US Senate’s version of the act makes amendments to the Taiwan Relations Act, allowing the US to provide “arms conducive to the deterrence of acts of aggression by the People’s Liberation Army” to Taiwan, not just “arms of a defensive character.”
The US would provide Taiwan with defense articles and defense services that allow Taiwan to “implement a strategy to deter acts of aggression by the People’s Liberation Army and to deny an invasion of Taiwan by the People’s Liberation Army,” instead of maintaining “a sufficient self-defense capability,” the proposed bill says.
The Senate’s version preclears and prioritizes military platforms, technologies, and equipment for sale and release to Taiwan through the Foreign Military Sales program.
Contractors awarded US Department of Defense contracts to provide items for such sales to Taiwan are required to expedite and prioritize the production of the items regardless of the order in which contracts were signed, the proposed bill says.
These contractors are forbidden from conducting any business in China, or with any entity that is owned by or controlled by the Chinese government or the Chinese Communist Party, or any subsidiary of such a company, it says.
The US secretary of defense should establish a high-level military planning mechanism between the US and Taiwan to oversee a joint exercise program, and coordinate military education and training exchanges, it says.
The mechanism aims to coordinate the capabilities of military forces in the US and Taiwan “to address the needs of currently anticipated and future contingencies,” it says.
The US government is required to transfer up to US$2 billion a year to the Taiwan Critical Munitions Acquisition Fund to ensure that the US’ allies and partners have adequate stocks of critical munitions in advance of a potential operation to defend Taiwan, it says.
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 —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat