Historic turning point for the island of Formosa. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has approved a bill that aims to strengthen ties with Taiwan and provide it with more military material to deter a possible Chinese invasion. But one last step remains: the final text will have to address the Senate vote and White House objections to have any chance of becoming law.
The Taiwan Policy Act, passed during a visit to Washington by a parliamentary delegation from Taipei, is expected to grant Taipei $ 4.5 billion for defense over the next four years, would invite the United States to “engage” with its democratically elected government. as a “legitimate representative of the people of Taiwan” and would affirm President Joe Biden’s power to impose sanctions on Chinese officials and financial institutions involved in actions against the East China Sea island. Specifically, a two billion dollar loan guarantee is cited for the purchase of arms and the qualification of Taiwan as the “main non-NATO ally” of the United States.
The historic measure was approved on Wednesday with 17 votes in favor and 5 against. “We need to be clear about what we’re dealing with,” said Democratic Senator Robert Menendez, the New Jersey rapporteur who chairs the committee and sponsored the bill. “We are not looking for a war with China.”
Although the White House has claimed to support parts of the bill, officials from the Biden administration said the bill threatened to undermine the traditional ‘one China’ policy that the United States has followed since the Richard Nixon, under which the US has built ties with Beijing for over 40 years, avoiding formally declaring its position on Taiwan’s sovereignty. Furthermore, they fear that the bill will take away the political decision from the president to give it to Congress, and Biden in this political moment needs to pocket as many successes as possible to recover in the approval ratings.
Supporters of the bill believe that Chinese President Xi Jinping is leading China in an increasingly authoritarian and militaristic direction and that the United States must strengthen Taiwan’s defenses in response.
The importance of the island is essential: from a simple base of the nationalists of Chiang Kai-shek, opponents of the communist Mao, the island has transformed into the world capital of microchip production, an essential component for the tech industry around the world. , whose value has grown in recent years and has shown its centrality during the pandemic when trade to other countries was blocked.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi visited the island in early August to reaffirm the friendship between the island and the United States, generating indignant reactions from the Beijing government (such as carrying out military operations near the island or launch ballistic missiles as a show of strength). The Taiwan Relations Act, enacted in 1979, is a cornerstone of US policy towards Taiwan and its revision could undermine the delicate architecture with which the US and China have peacefully agreed to disagree on status of Taiwan for decades.
Nonetheless, the measure in question was also called sensitive by some of those who voted in favor: “I’m just very frustrated that we, as a committee, are about to put the spotlight on this,” Republican Senator Mitt Romney said. of Utah (former Republican presidential candidate in 2012 against Barack Obama) about the 4.5 billion dollars for the defense of Taiwan. The senator argued that there are lower-profile methods of achieving the same result.
Senator Edward Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, was among those who voted against the measure, expressing concern about the revisions of US policy towards Taiwan. He has pledged to work with Menendez to make changes before a possible vote in the classroom.
Chinese reactions were not long in coming: Beijing considers the bill as another step in the campaign to undermine the “one China” agreement and proceed towards formal recognition of Taiwan (currently, in fact, the island is considered as a a separatist province within the great Asian country).
China has filed a diplomatic complaint with the United States about the act, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said during a press meeting Thursday in Beijing: “If the bill continues to be approved, brought forward or even become law, will strongly shake the political foundations of relations between China and the United States and will cause extremely serious consequences to relations, peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait “
The White House has initiated talks with the commission to change some aspects of the law, arguing that longstanding US policy is still valid. One concern relates to Title 2 of the law, which includes a section amending previous Taiwan legislation, the Taiwan Relations Act, by expanding the terms under which the United States can supply arms to Taiwan.
The Taiwan Relations Act, enacted in 1979, is a cornerstone of US policy towards Taiwan and its revision could undermine the delicate architecture with which the US and China have peacefully agreed to disagree on status of Taiwan for decades.
“If we want Taiwan to have a fighting chance, we need to act now,” said Senator James Risch of Idaho, the committee’s senior Republican.