{"id":57991,"date":"2022-08-02T17:29:49","date_gmt":"2022-08-02T17:29:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2022\/08\/02\/as-pelosi-visits-taiwan-dont-miss-the-action-in-congress\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T12:34:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T12:34:21","slug":"as-pelosi-visits-taiwan-dont-miss-the-action-in-congress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2022\/08\/02\/as-pelosi-visits-taiwan-dont-miss-the-action-in-congress\/","title":{"rendered":"As Pelosi visits Taiwan, don\u2019t miss the action on China in Congress"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

All eyes are understandably on Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi\u2019s trip to Taiwan this week<\/a> as Beijing issues threats and rattles its saber. But those interested in supporting the free people of Taiwan and pushing back on increasingly aggressive behavior from Beijing should not miss an important legislative development unfolding simultaneously on Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is meeting Aug. 3<\/a> to consider S.4428, the Taiwan Policy Act of 2022<\/a>, a bill introduced by committee Chairman Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. In a joint press release<\/a>, their offices describe the legislation as \u201cthe most comprehensive restructuring of U.S. policy towards Taiwan since the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Menendez and Graham rightly note in their bill, the \u201csecurity of Taiwan and the ability for the people of Taiwan to determine their own future is fundamental to United States interests and values.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem is Beijing believes that the relative ability of Taiwan and the United States to defend those interests and values has declined precipitously and is weaker than ever. Not surprisingly, as the People\u2019s Liberation Army has become more powerful and the Chinese Communist Party\u2019s confidence has grown, Beijing has employed its military forces more aggressively near Taiwan<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chinese warplanes reportedly made 969 incursions<\/a> into Taiwan\u2019s air defense identification zone in 2021, more than double the previous year\u2019s total. In one day alone last year, Beijing sent 56 aircraft into Taiwan\u2019s ADIZ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Washington and Taipei permit the balance of power in the Taiwan Strait to continue to erode, Beijing may decide in the next few years that it can accomplish its political objectives on the island with military force. In fact, Adm. Philip Davidson, then the top U.S. military officer in the Indo-Pacific, warned<\/a> in March 2021 that Beijing could conduct military aggression toward Taiwan<\/a> \u201cin the next six years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if Beijing backs down this week during Pelosi\u2019s trip, Americans should not assume that things will turn out so well next time if the United States doesn\u2019t act quickly to reverse dangerous trends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United States and Taiwan, therefore, should urgently build<\/a> their combined military strength to change Beijing\u2019s assessment of the relative combat power of the potential combatants, and thereby deter the Chinese Communist Party from initiating aggression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such an approach would support American interests and values, but it would also be consistent with the Taiwan Relations Act, a long-standing pillar of U.S. policy toward Taiwan. Indeed, the law states that Washington shall \u201cprovide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character\u201d and maintain the American military capacity necessary to ensure \u201cthe future of Taiwan will be determined by peaceful means.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A U.S. government plane carrying Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and her delegation arrives Aug. 2, 2022, in Taipei, Taiwan. (Annabelle Chih\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Thankfully, there is growing appreciation in Congress regarding the need for urgent action, as demonstrated by the proliferation of Taiwan-related bills. In addition to the Menendez-Graham bill, Sen. Jim Risch<\/a>, R-Idaho, Sen. Josh Hawley<\/a>, R-Mo., Rep. Mike Gallagher<\/a>, R-Wis., and others have introduced their own bills attempting to strengthen deterrence in the Taiwan Strait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Menendez-Graham bill, however, is particularly noteworthy because Menendez is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. As the Aug. 3 markup may demonstrate, he enjoys disproportionate power to obtain committee approval and advance the bill to the full Senate for consideration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Menendez-Graham bill includes elements of the other Taiwan bills and some unique attributes of its own, with the most significant elements included in Title II of the legislation. Sections within that title would create, among other things, a Taiwan Security Assistance Initiative, a Comprehensive Training Program, Military Planning Mechanisms and multiple iterative assessment efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\t