On 24 May 2024, in the United States of America (USA), Senators Pete Ricketts and Jeanne Shaheen introduced a bill to facilitate European transfers of American-made arms to Taiwan, in order to encourage the development of cooperation between European countries and Taipei.
Republican Senator Ricketts and Democratic Senator Shaheen proposed the Building Options for Taiwan’s Lasting Security through European Resolve (BOLSTER) Act, which aims to create a mechanism for NATO countries in Europe to more easily transfer American equipment to support Taiwan’s defence. The Bill was introduced after China launched a major two-day military exercise around Taiwan and following the swearing-in ceremony of William Lai (賴清德), President-elect of Taiwan. The bill would establish an expedited decision-making process for third-party transfers of defence equipment and services from North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) countries to Taiwan in less than 90 days after entry into force.
If the bill becomes law, the US Secretary of State will, within 180 days, inform the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Armed Services of the US Senate and the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Armed Services of the US House of Representatives about negotiations with the governments of European NATO countries on contributions to Taiwan’s self-defence. According to the draft resolution, these contributions include arms transfers and sales (in particular weapons compatible with an asymmetric defence strategy) and an increase in the military presence of European NATO countries in the Indo-Pacific region. The United States and European countries will also discuss how to provide humanitarian assistance to Taiwan in the case of a possible blockade, quarantine or military intervention by the Chinese military.
On Saturday 25 May 2024, the US State Department stated that the United States is ‘concerned’ about China’s military exercises in and around the Taiwan Strait. The statement came after China concluded two days of war drills around Taiwan, during which it simulated attacks with bombers and practised boarding ships.[1]
On Friday 24 May 2024, the Chinese Army Eastern Theatre Command said in a statement that military exercises around Taiwan are designed to test its ability to ‘seize power’ over the island.[2] Beijing has emphasised that these drills are in response to Lai’s remarks at his inauguration that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are ‘not subject to each other’. Reacting to these drills, Taiwan’s Ministry of Defence stated that they detected 62 Chinese military aircraft and 27 navy ships, 46 of which crossed the middle line of the Taiwan Strait, which previously served as an unofficial barrier between the two sides.[3]
Regarding the latest US arms supplies to Taiwan, China’s Ministry of Defence condemned these steps as ‘malicious actions’ and said that they ‘pose a serious threat to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and create significant strategic risks to the China-US military relationship’.[4]
On Monday 27 May 2024, Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Seoul. High on the agenda were efforts to revive negotiations on a trilateral free trade agreement, which have been stalled since 2019. At the opening of the summit, Li said the meeting was ‘both a rebuilding and a new beginning’ and called for a comprehensive resumption of cooperation between East Asia’s economic powerhouses. However, for this to happen, politics must be separated from economics and trade issues, he added, emphasizing the need to end protectionism and unbundle supply chains.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that his country is ready to work with South Korea to strengthen exchanges and communication, stick to the original goal of establishing diplomatic ties, maintain mutual respect and trust, prevent external interference, and reaffirm and continuously enrich the bilateral strategic cooperative partnership.[5]
To conclude, it can be said that the US’s desire to directly transfer arms to Taiwan is a move in line with its policy of containment of China. The US intervention in China’s neighbouring countries and its relations with them may lead China to take more measures in its foreign policy. The aim of the US is to increase cooperation with Japan, South Korea and Taiwan in order to prevent the development of its biggest rival China.
Knowing that these moves could lead to a major conflict, the US, in order to maintain its ‘so-called hegemony’ in the world, is encircling China by increasing its military and economic cooperation with countries in the Asia-Pacific, taking into account a possible hot conflict. In the event of a possible war, Asia-Pacific countries will be the ones to suffer. Therefore, China is accelerating its diplomatic contacts with Asia-Pacific countries and warning them about the ‘dangerous policy’ of the US. Because the country that will suffer the least damage in a possible confrontation is the USA. Thus, China calls on countries such as South Korea and Japan to oppose the politics of polarisation in the region. The Taiwan Issue is at the core of this politics of polarisation.
[1] “U.S. ‘deeply concerned’ over China military drills in Taiwan Strait”, Nikkei Asia https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/Taiwan-tensions/U.S.-deeply-concerned-over-China-military drills-in-Taiwan-Strait, (Date of Accesion: 26.05.2024).
[2] “China says military drills encircling Taiwan designed to test its ability to ‘seize power’, CNN, https://edition.cnn.com/2024/05/23/asia/china-military-drills-taiwan-second-day-intl-hnk/index.html, (Date of Accesion: 26.05.2024).
[3] “China ends war games, Taiwan details warplane, warship surge”, Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/china-ends-war-games-taiwan-details-warplane-warship-surge-2024-05-25/, (Date of Accesion: 26.05.2024).
[4] “Joe Biden donates weapons to Taiwan, as he does to Ukraine”, The Economist, https://t.ly/IZhSb, (Date of Accesion: 26.05.2024).
[5] “China, S.Korea reaffirm bilateral strategic cooperative partnership”, Xinhua, https://english.news.cn/20231126/70ebdf79fe054693974d6126a3989f25/c.html , (Date of Accesion: 27.05.2024).
