[Page: S2120]
Mr. THOMAS (for himself, Mr. Helms, Mr. Dole, Mr. Murkowski, Mr. Pell, Mr. Simon, Mr. Mack, Mr. Grams, Mr. Pressler, Mr. Brown, Mr. Lugar, Mr. D'Amato, Mr. Warner, Mr. Ford, and Mr. Roth) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by them to amendment No. 3466 proposed by Mr. Hatfield to the bill H.R. 3019 supra; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. . SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING MISSILE TESTS BY THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.
(a) Findings: Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The People's Republic of China, in a clear attempt to intimidate the people and Government of Taiwan, has over the past 8 months conducted a series of military exercises, including missile tests, within alarmingly close proximity to Taiwan.
(2) On March 5, 1996, the Xinhua News Agency announced that the People's Republic of China would conduct missile tests from March 8 through March 15, 1996, within 25 to 35 miles of the 2 principal northern and southern ports of Taiwan, Kaohsiung and Keelung.
(3) The proximity of these tests to the ports and the accompanying warnings for ships and aircraft to avoid the test areas is resulting in the effective disruption of the ports, and of international shipping and air traffic, for the duration of the tests.
(4) These tests are a clear escalation of the attempts by the People's Republic of China to intimidate Taiwan and influence the outcome of the upcoming democratic presidential election in Taiwan.
(5) Relations between the United States and the Peoples' Republic of China rest upon the expectation that the future of Taiwan will be settled solely by peaceful means.
(6) The strong interest of the United States in the peaceful settlement of the Taiwan question is one of the central premises of the three United
States-China Joint Communiques and was codified in the Taiwan Relations Act.
(7) The Taiwan Act states that peace and stability in the western Pacific `are in the political, security, and economic interests of the United States, and are matters of international concern'.
(8) The Taiwan Relations Act states that the United States considers `any effort to determine the future of Taiwan by other than peaceful means, including by boycotts, or embargoes, a threat to the peace and security of the western Pacific area and of grave concern to the United States'.
(9) The Taiwan Relations Act directs the President to `inform Congress promptly of any threat to the security or the social or economic system of the people on Taiwan and any danger to the interests of the United States arising therefrom'.
(10) The Taiwan Relations Act further directs that `the President and the Congress shall determine, in accordance with constitutional process, appropriate action by the United States in response to any such danger'.
(11) The United States, the People's Republic of China, and the Government of Taiwan have each previously expressed their commitment to the resolution of the Taiwan question through peaceful means.
(12) These missile tests and accompanying statements made by the Government of the People's Republic of China call into serious question the commitment of China to the peaceful resolution of the Taiwan question.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) the United States deplores the missile tests that the People's Republic of China is conducting from March 8 through March 15, 1996, and views them as a potentially serious threat to the peace, security, and stability of Taiwan and not in the spirit of the three United States-China Joint Communiques;
(2) the Government of the People's Republic of China should cease its bellicose actions directed at Taiwan and instead enter into meaningful dialogue with the Government of Taiwan at the highest levels, such as through the Straits Exchange Foundation in Taiwan and the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits in Beijing, with an eye towards decreasing tensions and resolving the issue of the future of Taiwan;
(3) the President, consistent with section 3(c) of the Taiwan Relations Act (22 U.S.C. 3302(c)), should immediately consult with Congress on an appropriate United States response to the tests should the tests pose an actual threat to the peace, security, and stability of Taiwan; and
(4) the President should, consistent with the Taiwan Relations Act (22 U.S.C. 3301 et seq.), reexamine the nature and quantity of defense articles and services that may be necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability in light of the heightened threat.
END
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