The U.S. "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023," which contains private goods related to Taiwan, was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on the 14th local time. Taiwan's "Central News Agency" reported that the bill supports inviting Taiwan to participate in the 2024 Rim of the Pacific military exercise. The Asia-Pacific Group of the House of Representatives The "Taiwan Peace and Stability Act" proposed by Chairman Bella is also included. The news quickly spread to the island, and some netizens said they were "sick of hearing about it."
reported that after many days of debate and voting, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023" on the evening of the 14th. The "Taiwan Peace and Stability Act" proposed by Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Group of the House of Representatives Bella is also included in the bill. Taiwan's "Central News Agency" stated that the bill requires the Biden administration to submit a government-wide strategic report within 90 days to "strengthen the deterrence of cross-strait conflicts. and focus on working with allies.”
According to the summary of the " National Defense Authorization Bill " released by the House of Representatives, the bill supports inviting Taiwan to participate in the 2024 Rim of the Pacific military exercise "to improve Taiwan's military readiness capabilities."
In addition, the "Central News Agency" report mentioned that the bill also declares that it supports the assessment of Taiwan's air defense capabilities and makes recommendations on response measures to improve as soon as possible; it must regularly update the status of US military assistance to the Taiwan authorities and speed up Deliver the job.
When the news reached the island, some comments on the island said, "I'm tired of hearing it" and "Every time I talk about it, nothing happens..."
Some people think that "it should be more realistic to authorize Taiwan to send observers."
The Rim of the Pacific military exercise is held every two years and is the world's largest joint maritime military exercise. The United States has previously proposed inviting Taiwan to participate in the Rim-Pacific military exercises in the form of the National Defense Authorization Act. In the "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021" passed by the U.S. Senate on July 23, 2020, the U.S. Congress proposed inviting Taiwan to participate in the RIM-Pacific military exercise.
Chinese military expert Zhang Xuefeng once said that the People's Liberation Army was invited to participate in the Rim-Pacific military exercises twice in 2014 and 2016. However, in 2018, the U.S. Department of Defense canceled the invitation on the grounds that "China's militarization of the South China Sea is inconsistent with the principles and purposes of the Rim-Pacific military exercise." Since then, mainland China has not participated in this military exercise again. Taiwan, on the other hand, wants to take advantage of the opportunity. Including after the passage of the U.S. National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2021, Taiwan has been discussing that it can first participate in the exercise as an observer.
Zhang Xuefeng said that in view of the United States’ continuous strengthening of its containment policy against mainland China, the determination of the United States to make this “recommendation” become a reality cannot be underestimated. Currently, the United States and Taiwan have close military exchanges and have multiple cooperation projects. Then, if the "salami-slicing" tactic is further implemented in the future and Taiwan is invited to participate in the Rim of the Pacific military exercises, it will become a theoretically possible option. However, the statement in the bill is a "suggestion", which also leaves itself open. The current Taiwan Strait situation is highly sensitive. Once Taiwan dares to follow suit, it will further intensify the cross-strait situation, and the Taiwan authorities will inevitably pay a heavy price.
Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, has made it clear before that we firmly oppose the promotion and review of bills containing Taiwan-related content by the U.S. Congress. Taiwan is part of China, and the Taiwan issue is China's internal affairs. The U.S. government and the U.S. Congress have no authority. put one's oar in. The DPP authorities must not misjudge the situation. Any attempt to rely on external forces to seek "independence" will ultimately fail. Our determination to curb "Taiwan independence" and curb Taiwan-US collusion is by no means just words.
Source: Global Network
