Top National Security Democrats Urge Trump to Reaffirm U.S. Commitment to Taiwan Ahead of Beijing Visit

WASHINGTON – Today, Representative Ro Khanna, Ranking Member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, alongside Ranking Member Gregory Meeks of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Ranking Member Jim Himes of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and Ranking Member Adam Smith of the House Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to reaffirm the United States’ longstanding One-China policy during his visit to the People’s Republic of China, warning that any deviation from decades of bipartisan Taiwan policy could undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

The lawmakers wrote: “For decades, the United States has contributed to the preservation of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait by grounding its One-China Policy in the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), the Three Joint Communiqués, and the Six Assurances. The TRA (P.L. 96-8; 22 U.S.C. §§3301 et seq.) requires the United States to provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability.”

The letter further stated that U.S. policy has long maintained that Taiwan’s future must be resolved peacefully, while underscoring that the Six Assurances made clear Washington did not abandon Taiwan following the 1982 U.S.-China Joint Communiqué on arms sales. The lawmakers noted that the Second Assurance states the United States has “not agreed” to consult with Beijing in advance on arms sales to Taiwan, arguing that longstanding American commitments have helped preserve stability across the Taiwan Strait by deterring Chinese aggression and preventing a conflict the American people overwhelmingly seek to avoid.

“Delays of Congressionally approved arms sales to Taiwan undercut the maintenance of effective cross-Strait deterrence, and even the possibility of the PRC unduly influencing the United States’ Taiwan policy undermines the spirit of both the TRA and the Six Assurances,” the lawmakers continued. 

The lawmakers requested the President do the following:

• formally notify and proceed with the export of Congressionally approved arms cases to Taiwan;
• affirm the Administration’s commitment to the One-China Policy, as based on the TRA, Three Joint Communiqués, and the Six Assurances; and 
• oppose any PRC attempt to dictate U.S. policy toward Taiwan.

“Peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait rest on the United States’ steadfast adherence to the principles which it has upheld for decades,” the lawmakers concluded.

Read the letter here.

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