A new American challenge to China over Taiwan. This time, it is the parliament that launches the procedure for massive military aid to the island, in the face of threats from communist China.
With our correspondent in Washington, Guillaume Naudin
This is only a first step, but it will surely not please the Beijing authorities. The Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, led by elected officials from both parties, Democrats and Republicans, adopts the “Taiwan Policy Act”.
This bill provides for the disbursement of more than 4 billion dollars of military aid to Taiwan for the next four years. It also asks the president to sanction the main Chinese financial institutions in the event of “ escalation in hostile acts towards Taiwan “.
For all this to become reality, this project must still be voted on by the Senate and the House of Representatives before being signed by Joe Biden. But this happens in an already tense context. A few days ago, the White House announced the sale of more than a billion dollars of armaments to the government of Taipei.
Beijing had just organized its most important military maneuvers around the island, in response to the on-site visit by Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and 3rd personage of the American State. Faced with the Chinese fury, without publicly disavowing Nancy Pelosi, the White House had put forward the principle of separation of powers in the United States.
This time, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan says the Biden administration isn’t completely on board with what’s in store for this new House initiative.
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