US Senate approves bill that could clear the way for more official exchanges with Taiwan

The United States Senate has passed a bill seeking to review long-standing restrictions on official engagement with Taiwan, a move certain to anger Beijing. For over four decades, Washington’s own guidelines have limited how officials may interact with their Taiwanese counterparts. But the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act asks the State Department to “identify opportunities and plans to lift self-imposed restrictions on relations with Taiwan”. Passed without objection by senators from both parties on Tuesday night, the legislation – which has yet to be signed into law by President Donald Trump – could pave the way for higher-level exchanges between Taipei and Washington. It may also open up the possibility of senior Taiwanese officials visiting the US capital, something Beijing has long opposed. The issue of Taiwan has been a key flashpoint between Beijing and Washington even while the prospect of stabilising the relationship between the two superpowers grows. After meeting his counterpart Xi Jinping in South Korea last month, Trump said he would visit China in April. Beijing, which considers Taiwan part of China to be reunified by force if necessary, has long opposed any official engagement by foreign countries with Taipei and has ramped up military pressure around the island in recent years. The US, in common with most countries, does not recognise the island as an independent state, but Washington opposes any attempt to take it by force and remains committed to supplying arms for Taiwan’s defence. Visits to Washington by senior Taiwanese figures have been seen as taboo since the US switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979. As part of the switch, Washington acknowledged the one-China policy and set a number of “red lines” governing contact between American and Taiwanese officials. Taiwan’s foreign ministry welcomed the Senate’s decision on Thursday, saying it was a “bipartisan action that further strengthens Taiwan-US relations and underscores our shared commitment to freedom and a free and open Indo-Pacific”. The island’s foreign minister Lin Chia-lung appeared before Taiwan’s legislature later in the day, where he was asked by Lai Shyh-bao, from the main opposition party Kuomintang, whether the island’s premier, foreign minister and defence minister had been effectively unable to visit Washington. Lin replied that “there was never a rule saying we couldn’t go”, prompting Lai to counter that in practice none of them had done so. Asked whether he could now travel to Washington, Lin said: “If there is a need to go, I will go.” But added that “some diplomatic matters are not suitable for public discussion, especially when they involve bilateral relations”. In August, Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te was reported to have cancelled a visit to Latin America because of Washington’s concerns over a planned transit on US soil. Both Washington and Taipei denied the reports. The latest bill, which passed the House of Representatives in May, requires the State Department to update its Taiwan engagement guidelines at least every five years and submit a report to Congress within 90 days of each review. In 2021, shortly before leaving his post as secretary of state, Mike Pompeo lifted all self-imposed restrictions on US-Taiwan engagement. The order was partially rescinded by Joe Biden after he entered the White House. However, the Biden administration later relaxed certain rules to allow US officials to routinely host Taiwanese officials at federal facilities and visit Taiwan’s representative office – its de facto embassy – in Washington. In another move likely to enrage Beijing, the State Department on Wednesday awarded defence contractor Raytheon a US$698.9 million contract to produce components for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System ordered by Taiwan. The new contract, awarded under the US Foreign Military Sales programme, is viewed in Taipei as critical for strengthening its air defences amid Beijing’s expanding drone and cruise missile capabilities. Once delivered in 2031, the system will be integrated with Taiwan’s existing Patriot systems to form a denser, multilayered anti-missile shield. Beijing has yet to comment on the Senate vote, though it has reacted angrily to previous moves by Washington to expand official exchanges. The foreign ministry in Beijing has also denounced previous US arms deals with Taiwan, saying they violate the one-China principle and threatening unspecified countermeasures.

US Senate approves bill that could clear the way for more official exchanges with Taiwan

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}If endorsed by Donald Trump, the legislation will require the State Department to review guidelines limiting relations with Taipei

If endorsed by Donald Trump, the legislation will require the State Department to review guidelines limiting relations with Taipei