[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 119 (Tuesday, July 23, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5313-S5314]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 3041. Mr. MARKEY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 4638, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2025 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of title XII, add the following:
Subtitle G--Taiwan ASSURE Act
SEC. 1294. SHORT TITLES.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Taiwan Actions
Supporting Security by Undertaking Regular Engagements Act''
or the ``Taiwan ASSURE Act''.
SEC. 1295. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Consistent with the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of
2018 (Public Law 115-409), the United States has grown its
strategic partnership with Taiwan's vibrant democracy of
23,000,000 people.
(2) Section 2(b) of the Taiwan Relations Act (22 U.S.C.
3301(b)) declares that it is the policy of the United
States--
(A) ``to preserve and promote extensive, close, and
friendly commercial, cultural, and other relations between
the people of the United States and the people on Taiwan, as
well as the people on the China mainland and all other
peoples of the Western Pacific area''; and
(B) ``to declare that peace and stability in the [Western
Pacific] area are in the political, security, and economic
interests of the United States, and are matters of
international concern''.
(3) In recent years, the Government of the People's
Republic of China (PRC) has intensified its efforts to
diplomatically isolate and intimidate Taiwan through--
(A) punitive economic measures;
(B) increased military provocations; and
(C) exertions of malign influence to undermine democracy in
Taiwan.
(4) To ensure the durability of the United States policy
under the Taiwan Relations Act (Public Law 115-409), it is
necessary--
(A) to reinforce--
(i) Taiwan's international participation;
(ii) Taiwan's global economic integration; and
(iii) the credibility of Taiwan's military deterrent; and
(B) to simultaneously take measures to reduce the risk of
miscalculation among the PRC, the United States, and Taiwan.
(5) Taiwan's meaningful participation in international
organizations in which statehood is not a requirement
benefits the global community, as evidenced by the fact that
Taiwan was the first to inform the World Health Organization
of cases of atypical pneumonia reported in Wuhan, China, on
December 31, 2019.
(6) Despite the COVID-19 pandemic creating an opportunity
for the Government of the PRC to launch a disinformation
campaign aimed at sowing internal social division and
undermining confidence in the response of Taiwanese
authorities, Taiwan has been overwhelmingly successful in
controlling the pandemic.
(7) The Global Cooperation and Training Framework, a United
States-Taiwan-Japan platform for Taiwan to share its
expertise with the world, has sponsored nearly 30 workshops
since 2015 to share Taiwan's knowledge on issues such as
addressing COVID-19 misinformation, disaster relief, women's
empowerment, and good governance.
(8) Section 2(b)(2) of the Taiwan Relations Act (22 U.S.C.
3301(b)(2)) states it is the policy of the United States ``to
declare that peace and stability in the [Western Pacific]
area are in the political, security, and economic interests
of the United States, and are matters of international
concern''.
(9) The PRC's recent military activities around Taiwan,
including conducting 10 transits and military exercises near
Taiwan since January 2021 and 380 sorties into Taiwan's Air
Defense Identification Zone in 2020 (the greatest number
since 1996), have destabilized Northeast Asia.
(10) Increased air and sea activity in and around the
Taiwan Strait and the East China Sea by the PRC, Taiwan, the
United States, and Japan increase the likelihood of accidents
that may--
(A) escalate tensions around Taiwan; and
[[Page S5314]]
(B) undermine the stability across the Taiwan Strait and
regional peace in the Northeast Asia.
SEC. 1296. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) United States engagement with Taiwan should focus on
actions, activities, and programs that mutually benefit the
United States and Taiwan;
(2) the United States should prioritize--
(A) people-to-people exchanges;
(B) bilateral and multilateral economic cooperation; and
(C) assisting Taiwan's efforts to participate in
international institutions;
(3) the United States should pursue new engagement
initiatives with Taiwan, such as--
(A) enhancing cooperation on science and technology;
(B) joint infrastructure development in third countries;
(C) renewable energy and environmental sustainability
development; and
(D) investment screening coordination;
(4) the United States should expand its financial support
for the Global Cooperation and Training Framework, and
encourage like-minded countries to co-sponsor workshops, to
showcase Taiwan's capacity to contribute to solving global
challenges in the face of the Government of the PRC's
campaign to isolate Taiwan in the international community;
(5) to advance the goals of the April 2021 Department of
State guidance expanding unofficial United States-Taiwan
contacts, the United States, Taiwan, and Japan should aim to
host Global Cooperation and Training Framework workshops
timed to coincide with plenaries and other meetings of
international organizations in which Taiwan is unable to
participate;
(6) the United States should support efforts to engage
regional counterparts in Track 1.5 and Track 2 dialogues on
the stability across the Taiwan Strait, which are important
for increasing strategic awareness amongst all parties and
the avoidance of conflict;
(7) United States arms sales to Taiwan should support
Taiwan's asymmetric defense capabilities, as outlined in
Taiwan's Overall Defense Concept, and improve Taiwan's
military deterrent;
(8) bilateral confidence-building measures and crisis
stability dialogues between the United States and the PRC are
important mechanisms for maintaining deterrence and stability
across the Taiwan Strait and should be prioritized; and
(9) the United States and the PRC should prioritize the use
of a fully operational military crisis hotline to provide a
mechanism for the leadership of the two countries to
communicate directly in order to quickly resolve
misunderstandings that could lead to military escalation.
SEC. 1297. DEFINITIONS.
In this subtitle:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
(C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives; and
(D) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of
Representatives.
(2) China; prc.--The terms ``China'' and ``PRC'' mean the
People's Republic of China.
(3) Taiwan authorities.--The term ``Taiwan authorities''
means officials of the Government of Taiwan.
SEC. 1298. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE GLOBAL
COOPERATION AND TRAINING FRAMEWORK.
There are authorized to be appropriated for the Global
Cooperation and Training Framework under the Economic Support
Fund authorized under section 531 of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2346), $6,000,000 for each of the
fiscal years 2022 through 2025, which may be expended for
trainings and activities that increase Taiwan's economic and
international integration.
SEC. 1299. ENHANCING PARTNERSHIP.
(a) National Guard Partnership Program.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in
consultation with the Secretary of State and the appropriate
Taiwan authorities, shall submit a report to the appropriate
congressional committees regarding the feasibility and
advisability of establishing a National Guard partnership
program between United States National Guard forces and the
Armed Forces Reserve Command of Taiwan (referred to in this
section as ``Taiwan's Reserve Command'').
(2) Objectives.--The report required under paragraph (1)
shall examine how the establishment of a National Guard
partnership program would--
(A) advance Taiwan's Reserve Command's ability to recruit,
train, and equip its forces, including its ability to require
and provide regular individual and collective training to all
reserve forces;
(B) cultivate relationships among United States and Taiwan
reserve forces at the tactical, operational, and strategic
levels;
(C) enhance Taiwan's ability to respond to humanitarian
disasters; and
(D) strengthen Taiwan's ability to defend against outside
military aggression.
(3) Contents.--The report required under paragraph (1)
shall include--
(A) a comprehensive assessment of the policy opportunities
and drawbacks associated with establishing a National Guard
partnership program;
(B) an assessment of any statutory or administrative
barriers to establishing such a program, including a
determination of the feasibility and advisability of--
(i) modifying existing National Guard partnership
authorities; or
(ii) establishing new authorities, as appropriate;
(C) an evaluation of the capacity of--
(i) United States National Guard forces to support such a
program; and
(ii) Taiwan's Reserve Command forces to absorb such a
program;
(D) a determination of the most appropriate entities within
the Department of Defense and Taiwan's Reserve Command to
lead such a program; and
(E) a determination of additional resources and authorities
that may be required to execute such a program.
(4) Form of report.--The report required under paragraph
(1) shall be unclassified, but may include a classified annex
if the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State
determine that the inclusion of a classified annex is
appropriate.
(b) Taiwan's Asymmetric Defense Strategy.--Not later than
180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of
State, shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a classified report, with an unclassified summary,
assessing the implementation of Taiwan's asymmetric defense
strategy, including the priorities identified in Taiwan's
Overall Defense Concept.
SEC. 1299A. SUPPORTING CONFIDENCE BUILDING MEASURES AND
STABILITY DIALOGUES.
(a) Annual Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the
Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of
Defense, shall submit an unclassified report, with a
classified annex, to the appropriate congressional committees
that includes--
(1) a description of all military-to-military dialogues and
confidence-building measures between the United States and
the PRC during the 10-year period ending on the date of the
enactment of this Act;
(2) a description of all bilateral and multilateral
diplomatic engagements with the PRC in which cross-Strait
issues were discussed during such 10-year period, including
Track 1.5 and Track 2 dialogues;
(3) a description of the efforts in the year preceding the
submission of the report to conduct engagements described in
paragraphs (1) and (2); and
(4) a description of how and why the engagements described
in paragraphs (1) and (2) have changed in frequency or
substance during such 10-year period.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated for the Department of State, and, as
appropriate, the Department of Defense, no less than
$2,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2022 through 2025,
which shall be used to support existing Track 1.5 and Track 2
strategic dialogues facilitated by independent nonprofit
organizations in which participants meet to discuss cross-
Strait stability issues.
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