McCaul bill would strengthen U.S.-Taiwan relations, military ties

Legislation to further develop the relationship between Taiwan and the United States and support Taiwan’s participation in the international community, the Taiwan Security Act, was introduced on Tuesday by U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX).

“For far too long, the United States has prioritized the demands of Beijing over the consistent support of our friends in Taiwan,” McCaul said. “China is a nation that continuously bullies its neighbors, undermines U.S. economic and national security, threatens global trade in the South China Sea, and has refused to use its leverage over North Korea to help resolve the crisis on the Korean peninsula.”

H.R. 4288 would facilitate military exchanges, such as observation opportunities, activities, exercises, or events, between U.S. military officials at flag rank or above and U.S. Department of Defense officials at assistant secretary level or above and their Taiwanese counterparts. The legislation also expresses congressional support for Taiwan’s intention to spend 3 percent of its gross domestic product for defense and for its efforts to suspend economic ties to North Korea.

Rep. Robert Pittenger (R-NC) joined McCaul as an original cosponsor. Pittenger said, “This legislation strengthens our relationship with the freedom-loving people of Taiwan and provides a necessary counter-balance to China’s increased aggressiveness in the region.”

The bill stipulates that the U.S. Defense Secretary would invite the Taiwanese military to participate in the 2018 Rim of the Pacific Exercise, known as RIMPAC, and one of the “Red Flag” exercises conducted at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, and Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. Reciprocal naval ports-of-call visits between the two nations would be required.

“It’s time to relinquish China’s unabated power to dictate U.S. foreign policy,” McCaul added. “While respecting our One-China policy, we must return to our normal process for approving arms sales to Taiwan and encouraging their participation alongside the U.S. on the international stage when and where appropriate.”

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) in July introduced a companion bill in the Senate, S. 1620.

According to the Senate bill text, exchanges would focus on threat analysis, military doctrine, force planning, logistical support, intelligence collection and analysis, operational matters, and humanitarian and disaster relief. Exchanges would also focus on relationships between the civil government, including parliamentary relationships, and the military.