A US congressional panel on Tuesday (November 15) warned of China’s increasing aggression toward Taiwan and called for the creation of a governmental body designed to impose sanctions on China if it tries to invade the country.
The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) released its annual report to Congress on Tuesday. The report pointed out that in 2022 China has taken a “significantly more aggressive stance toward Taiwan, ramping up displays of military force in addition to diplomatic and economic coercion.”
It said Beijing has adopted a “bellicose and uncompromising stance on Taiwan,” spurring fears that China will resort to force to seize disputed territories and restrict freedom of navigation to “lay the groundwork for forcible unification with the island.” In an effort to further isolate Taipei internationally, the authors wrote that China has “continued its multifaceted coercion campaign against Taiwan.”
The report then called for the creation of a “permanent interagency committee” under the executive branch that would be tasked with developing contingency plans to impose sanctions and other economic tools in the event of a “Chinese attack, blockage, or other hostial action against Taiwan.” It also called on the Pentagon to develop plans to boost the US “capacity to resist force” in the event China attacks and invades Taiwan.
This would include an assessment of the needs for all scenarios, such as “protracted combat in a contested environment” and assessing how to best facilitate a “dispersed, distributed force” in the region. It also stated that Congress should allocate additional “multi-year defense funds” in coordination with a joint planning apparatus consisting of Taiwan and US officials designed to boost the “interoperable and complementary capabilities” needed for Taiwan’s defense.
It also pushed for the Taiwan government to commit to raising its defense budget to strengthen its military capabilities.
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4722473
Category: Taiwan
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