U.S. Senate Shuns China Threats, Okays Direct Military Aid To Taiwan

A Senate committee has taken the first step toward the United States directly providing billions of dollars in military aid to Taiwan and making ties more official, ramping up support following soaring tensions with Beijing, Shaun Tandon and Camille Camdessus reported for the Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Photo Insert: The US for decades has sold weapons to Taiwan but the new legislation will go further by providing US security assistance of $4.5 billion over four years aside from $2 billion in loan guarantees.

The US for decades has sold weapons to Taiwan but the new legislation will go further by providing US security assistance of $4.5 billion over four years aside from $2 billion in loan guarantees, a step sure to infuriate Beijing.

It also lays out sanctions on China if it uses force to try to seize the island. With support from both parties, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved the Taiwan Policy Act, billed as the most sweeping upgrade of the relationship since the US switched recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979.

Lawmakers moved ahead on the act amid heightened worries for Taiwan after Russia invaded Ukraine and following a visit to Taipei by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which prompted China to stage major military exercises seen as a trial run for an invasion.

Senator Bob Menendez, a member of Biden's Democratic Party who leads the committee, said that the US "does not seek war or heightened tensions with Beijing" but needed to be "clear-eyed."

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee backed the Taiwan Policy Act of 2022 by 17-5, shunning concerns that Beijing would be furious about the new US tack, the Associated Press also reported.

"We need to be clear-eyed about what we are facing," said Senator Bob Menendez, the committee's Democratic chairman, while stressing that the United States does not seek war or heightened tensions with Beijing.

"If we want to ensure Taiwan has a fighting chance, we must act now," said Senator Jim Risch, the committee's top Republican, arguing that any change in the status quo for Taiwan would have "disastrous effects" on the US economy and national security, Patricia Zengerle and Michael Martina reported for Reuters.

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