‘We Need Allies’: US Lawmakers Hail Bill That Would Boost Support for Taiwan

Legislators in the United States reacted favorably to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations’ approval of proposed legislation that would restructure the U.S.-Taiwan relationship.

The 2022 Taiwan Policy Act (S.4428) would substantially increase American funding for Taiwan’s defense and augment the two powers’ warm but unofficial ties.

“We’ve never needed each other as much or more than we do now,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) told NTD, a sister media outlet of the Epoch Times.

“This is a longtime friendship, but it is a friendship that really demands greater formalization.”

The act was approved by a bipartisan 17-5 vote. It will now move to Congress where it must be passed by both the House and Senate and then signed by President Joe Biden to become law.

The primary purpose of the bill is “to support the security of Taiwan and its right of self-determination,” though it would also enhance the island’s status to something closer to a formal diplomatic ally.

It would also direct the government to craft strategies to counter influence operations and economic coercion directed at Taiwan by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Moreover, it would grant Taiwan $6.5 billion over five years for the procurement of military weapons from the United States.

The United States does not maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan but, since the passage of the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, the nation is bound by law to provide the island government with the arms necessary to defend itself.

When asked whether the language of the bill could be seen as a provocation of the CCP, Cramer said that the regime had already raised the stakes with its aggressive military deployments in the waters and skies around Taiwan.

“[China has] chosen to hurt the relationship,” Cramer said. “They’ve chosen to be much more aggressive.”

“We can’t simply