Is it required to strengthen Taiwan’s military power? U.S. House of Representatives Military Commission Adopts Dangerous Draft

source: Global Times

"The U.S. House Committee on Armed Services passed a bill requiring the promotion of Taiwan's military power." When this news headline appeared on the "Central News Agency" website in Taiwan, the hook between the United States and Taiwan took another step.

According to a report by the "Central News Agency," the US Military Committee of the House of Representatives passed a draft of defense authorization law for 2019 on the 10th. The contents of the draft include the expansion of high-level military exchanges and joint military exercises between the United States and Taiwan, and support the transfer of US arms sales to Taiwan and other equipment, especially the development of asymmetric warfare capabilities.

According to the report, the House of Representatives' Military Committee discussed the 2019 fiscal year defense authority bill (NDAA FY2019) on a 10th basis. After a long day of debate, the bill was passed with 60 votes in favor and one against. The bill was sent to the House of Representatives for a vote. The content of the draft may still be adjusted.

According to the contents of the draft published by the Military Commission, Article 1243 stipulates that the U.S. Secretary of Defense should negotiate with the counterpart Taiwan authorities to comprehensively evaluate Taiwan’s military strength, especially its reserve force, in order to increase Taiwan’s self-defense capability.

This provision also stipulates that within one year of the entry into force of the bill, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, after consulting with the U.S. Secretary of State, will submit a report to the relevant U.S. Congress committee explaining the results of the assessment, the list of proposals, and plans to be adopted, and at the same time expand the U.S.-Taiwan high-ranking military Exchanges and joint military exercises, and support for the transfer of US arms sales to Taiwan and other equipment, especially the development of asymmetric warfare capabilities.

In response to the US Defense Authorization Act of 2018, China Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lu Yong once said that the relevant provisions seriously violated the principles of the one-China policy and the three Sino-U.S. joint communiques and interfered in China’s internal affairs. The Chinese side has lodged solemn representations with the United States and urged the US to fully recognize the serious harm of the relevant provisions of the aforementioned bills must not allow the bills containing the relevant clauses to be passed into law, and do not open a historical reversal so as not to damage the overall situation of Sino-U.S. cooperation.

For such issues, the Taiwan Affairs Office has also solemnly responded that the Taiwan issue is China’s internal affairs and resolutely opposes any form of official exchanges and military ties between the United States and Taiwan. Any attempt to harm the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is bound to suffer the common opposition of all the Chinese people and it is impossible to succeed.

On December 8, 2017, the US Government’s Minister in the United States, Li Kexin, expressed in Washington that the US Government’s assessment of the “sustainability of US-Taiwan warships” was required in the National Defense Authorization Act of the 2018 fiscal year (NDAA) passed by the US Congress. He told friends of the U.S. Congress that "the day the U.S. warships arrived in Kaohsiung will be the time when the People's Liberation Army use force to unify Taiwan."