Presidential Office thanks U.S. Congress for passing Asia policy bill

ROC Central News Agency

2018/12/20 21:56:45

Taipei, Dec. 20 (CNA) The Presidential Office on Thursday thanked the U.S. Congress for passing the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018, which includes a section reaffirming U.S. commitment to Taiwan, particularly regarding arms sales.

The bill, which cleared the floor of the Senate and the House of Representatives this month, includes a section reiterating U.S. commitment to Taiwan, including backing regular U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, and encouraging mutual visits by high-level officials between the two countries.

The bill will be submitted to the White House for President Donald Trump to sign, but it automatically becomes law after 10 days, even if Trump does not sign it.

In addition to the passage of the bill, six senators sent a letter to the U.S. administration urging action on allegations of China's interference in Taiwan's elections, Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) said in a press briefing Thursday.

Huang said this demonstrated the longstanding support from the U.S. Congress, the executive arms of the government and the civil society for Taiwan, and the Presidential Office wanted to thank them for their support.

The United States is Taiwan's most important friend in the international community and maintaining good Taiwan-U.S. relations and regional stability in East Asia is of crucial importance to all parties in the region, according to Huang.

As a member of the international community, Taiwan will continue working with the U.S. and like-minded countries in the region to contribute to peace, stability and well-being in the Indo-Pacific region, Huang added.

(By Yu Hsian and Evelyn Kao)
Enditem/cs