The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives recently passed the Federal Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2021 and the Taiwan Assurance Act, and made the first appropriation to support the U.S.-Taiwan Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF). The U.S. side’s move has sparked a public outcry in Taiwan.
The U.S. Senate passed the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 on the 21st, and the bill will officially take effect after President Trump signs it. The Senate and House of Representatives passed the “Federal Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2021” late at night EST on the 21st, in which $3 million is authorized for the Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF), which will also The “Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020” was passed in a concurrent manner.
“The Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 was introduced in the Senate and House of Representatives by Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel (D-NY), and Republican Ranking Member Michael McCaul (R-TX). McCaul (R-TX) and other members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The House of Representatives passed the bill last May without opposition, and its contents aim to support the normalization of arms sales to Taiwan, assist Taiwan in strengthening its self-defense capabilities, and support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations; it also urges the U.S. Secretary of State to review the guidelines for interactions with Taiwan and submit a report to Congress on the results of the review and the implementation of the Taiwan Travel Act.
Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Ou Jiang’an pointed out on the 23rd that “the ‘Federal Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2021’ includes for the first time language that provides funding to support activities related to the ‘Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF)’. The GCTF is a platform for Taiwan, the United States, and Japan to jointly promote public health, law enforcement, disaster relief, energy cooperation, women’s empowerment, media literacy, and good governance in the Indo-Pacific region, which demonstrates that both chambers of the U.S. Congress recognize the fruitful results of the GCTF in its five years of existence and is highly positive. Expand the scope of professional exchanges and cooperation with countries with similar philosophies.”
Taiwan Scholar: Binding the Next President to Open Another Window on U.S.-Taiwan Cooperation
In an interview with Radio Free Asia, Kuo Yu-jen, a professor at the Institute of China and Asia-Pacific Regional Studies at Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan, pointed out that this is the first time the U.S. Congress has formally appropriated funds for the executive branch to cooperate with Taiwan, which is significant: “I think the (U.S.) Congress has specifically appropriated funds for the Taiwan-U.S. cooperation structure, which opens another door for Taiwan-U.S. relations after the new president takes office and allows the next president to continue the Taiwan-U.S. cooperation program.”
According to Kuo, the Taiwan-U.S. Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF) was established under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under President Ma Ying-jeou and covers a wide range of areas, including climate change, food safety, maritime security, resource-sensitive technology protection, non-traditional security cooperation, human trafficking, drug trafficking, and counter-terrorism. Japan joined the GCTF last year, and Japan will gradually expand this structure cooperation. If there is no accident, Australia, New Zealand, and India may join this framework.
Kuo pointed out that this framework is a cooperation beyond the issue of international sovereignty and has a high strategic level: “Taiwan can cooperate with the United States and the world’s democratic countries through this more flexible framework, unlike the previous model of signing agreements in a piecemeal manner. It is a bit like turning a whole into a piece, cutting non-traditional national security into pieces and carrying it out in this framework. Ma Ying-jeou’s period did not pay attention to it because he attached more importance to relations with China and did not apply it flexibly, instead, U.S.-Taiwan cooperation in this framework was very active during Tsai Ing-wen’s term.”
In addition, on the passage of the Taiwan Assurance Act by both houses of the U.S. Congress, Guo Yuren believes that the content is very similar to the previous U.S. passage of the Asia Reassurance Act, and the strategic significance is not as obvious compared to the other six bills pending in the U.S. Congress related to Taiwan, such as the Equal Employment Assurance for Taiwanese Act and the Taiwan Student Scholarship Act. The U.S. Congress picked the Taiwan Reassurance Act to pass at this point in time, there is a taste of political statement, showing that the bipartisan consensus in the U.S. Congress hopes to constrain January 20, the next president to take office led by the U.S. executive branch to strengthen its commitment to Taiwan’s security and defense, “but also to let the Chinese Communist Party to see, especially under such a prominent time and space environment of the Hong Kong issue, the United States will highlight the U.S. commitment to Taiwan’s security and safety. “
Bill Supports Taiwan’s Participation in International Organizations
The Taiwan Reassurance Act bill makes clear that Taiwan is an important part of the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy. The bill specifically mentions assisting Taiwan in developing and integrating “asymmetric warfare capabilities” to support surface and underwater and air defense capabilities.
The bill also supports Taiwan’s participation in the United Nations, the World Health Assembly (WHA), the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and other international organizations. “(ICAO), and supports Taiwan’s participation as a member of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and other international organizations where national participation is not required. The bill also supports Taiwan’s membership in the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and other international organizations that do not require national participation. Within 180 days of the effective date of the bill, the Secretary of State will review the “Guidelines for Engagement with Taiwan” and other documents and reissue guidelines for the executive branch to follow.
Congress believes that, based on the values and interests of both the United States and Taiwan, the United States should recognize Taiwan as a freely and fairly elected, peacefully elected democratic government, and that U.S. relations with Taiwan must be consistent with bilateral long-term, comprehensive, and strategically minded goals.
In an interview with Radio Free Asia, Lee Dazhong, associate professor at the Institute of Strategic Studies at Tamkang University in Taiwan, pointed out that the bill supports Taiwan’s participation in several meaningful international organizations and also mentions security assistance for Taiwan to enhance its asymmetric warfare capabilities and Taiwan-U.S. military cooperation.
Li Dazhong said, “The U.S. friendly Taiwan bill has a fairly high level of repetition, much the same, from as early as the Taiwan Travel Act of 2018, followed by the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act and the Taipei Act, all of which have similar provisions, reflecting ongoing cross-party congressional support and help for Taiwan.”
How can the Taiwan Reassurance Act change U.S.-Taiwan relations? Li Dazhong believes that it depends on the strength and extent of the executive branch’s performance, and often it is a political judgment and many complex factors, including whether Taiwan can participate in international organizations? In addition to U.S. help, it also requires the support of international partners, friends and the international reality of power struggles, of which mainland China is often an important factor.
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