US Senate committee passes bill to support Taiwan’s diplomatic allies
- It would allow US secretary of state to adjust America’s diplomatic presence in, and foreign assistance to, countries considering downgrading ties
- Beijing has stepped up efforts to apply pressure on Taipei, and two Pacific allies switched recognition last week
A US Senate committee has passed a bill to support Taipei’s diplomatic allies, moving it closer to becoming law at a time when Beijing has stepped up efforts to squeeze Taiwan’s international space.
The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations voted unanimously on Wednesday to pass the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement (TAIPEI) Act, which will pave the way for the bill, sponsored by Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado, to reach the Senate floor for a vote.
“This bipartisan legislation demands a whole-of-government approach to ramp up our support for Taiwan, and will send a strong message to nations that there will be consequences for supporting Chinese actions that undermine Taiwan,” the Republican senator said.
The bill, reintroduced to Congress in May, would authorise the US secretary of state to adjust America’s diplomatic presence in, and expand, end or reduce foreign assistance to, countries considering downgrading ties – official or unofficial – with Taiwan.
It also states that US policy should be to advocate for Taiwan’s membership or observer status in international organisations, and that the US president should conduct “regular transfers of defence articles” to Taiwan, as well as encourage high-level travel by US officials to Taiwan.
The draft legislation still needs to pass a vote in the Senate and in the House of Representatives before it can reach US President Donald Trump’s desk to be approved and enacted into law.
Tsai on Thursday said Beijing had for a long time exerted pressure on Taipei to break the island diplomatically, and that Taiwan’s foreign ministry had been instructed to strengthen its remaining ties, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported.
Beijing claims sovereignty over Taiwan and has said it would take back the island by force if necessary, ramping up its pressure in recent years to limit Taiwan’s movement in the international arena. Under Tsai, cross-strait ties have rapidly deteriorated, and seven countries have switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.
While the US is not a formal diplomatic ally of Taiwan, the two maintain a mutual defence treaty, and the US government has supported the island, including through military arms sales. The US also passed the Taiwan Travel Act in February last year, which allows reciprocal visits by high-level officials from the US and Taiwan.
Taipei has slammed Beijing for engaging in “dollar diplomacy” with its allies, and those remaining are mostly smaller nations in the Pacific and the Caribbean.
Beijing targets Haiti as bid to isolate Taiwan from its diplomatic allies heads to the Caribbean
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday met Kiribati’s President Taneti Mamau at the UN General Assembly in New York, telling him the country made the correct “political decision” to switch diplomatic recognition to Beijing for its long-term interests.
On Saturday, while meeting Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele, Wang said the Pacific country’s move was an “open and above board decision that comes naturally”, while adding that “Taiwan was, is, and will be an inalienable part of China”.
