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Taiwan Policy Act unlikely to clear current Congress: Taiwan official

ROC Central News Agency

09/22/2022 01:06 PM

Taipei, Sept. 22 (CNA) It is unlikely that the proposed Taiwan Policy Act (TPA), which was approved by a U.S. Senate committee last week, will clear the U.S. Congress before the end of the current term, according to a senior Taiwanese official with knowledge of the issue.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said on Wednesday that Taiwanese authorities "had known the proposed bill would not clear the current U.S. Congress before it was introduced to the Senate" in June.

The proposed TPA, which contains a promise to provide Taiwan with up to US$6.5 billion to purchase arms and to treat Taipei as if it were a non-NATO ally of Washington, was passed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Sept. 15 with a 17-to-5 vote and put through to the Senate for consideration.

However, some of the bill's original proposals -- including renaming Taiwan's de facto U.S. embassy, requiring Senate approval for Washington's envoy to Taipei, and designating the island as a "major non-NATO ally" -- were either removed or made nonbinding.

The official described it as "highly difficult" for the bill to clear both the Senate and House before the current congressional term ends on Jan. 3, 2023 and be signed into law by U.S. President Joe Biden soon after.

Nevertheless, the official went on, one of the bill's sponsors Robert Menendez, who is also chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had hoped to "demonstrate his support for Taiwan" through sponsoring the bill.

According to the official, discussions between Taiwan's government and Menendez about the TPA began as early as April, when the Democratic senator and the bill's other sponsor, Lindsey Graham, who is a ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, visited Taiwan.

Commenting on the proposed TPA at an event in Washington last week, U.S. House of Representative Brad Sherman also said it was unlikely that the bill would clear the current Congress.

However, some of the bill's provisions could be included in the proposed U.S. National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal 2023, a congressional bill that authorizes funding levels and provides key policy guidance for the U.S. military, according to Sherman.

The Taiwanese official, who has asked not to be identified, shared similar views, saying Taiwan was hoping that the TPA's national security-related texts would be included in the proposed NDAA.

The U.S. Congress has passed the defense bill annually for the past six consecutive decades, the official said.

However, the official declined to specify what content Taiwan's government had hoped could be adopted, saying only "we are still in the process of negotiating with their Congress."

(By Teng Pei-ju)

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