Taiwan and the US have been looking at a piece of legislation that has guided their unofficial relations over the past 45 years, and they both think it is adequate for their current needs, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said on Thursday.
The 1979 Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) provides the US a legal basis to help Taiwan take part in international organizations and to supply Taiwan with weapons systems to boost its self-defense capabilities, Wu said during a legislative hearing, after an American academic called for a revision of the act.
The absence of official diplomatic relations between Taiwan and the US does not affect the application of US laws with regard to Taiwan, Wu said, citing Section 4 of the TRA.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The act extensively covers almost all aspects of Taiwan and US interactions, and there is no need to revise it, he added.
“The key decisionmakers in Taiwan and the US” have agreed that the TRA already offers “adequate flexibility” for both sides and meets their current needs, Wu said in response to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lo Mei-ling’s (羅美玲) question about whether the recent call for a law revision should be heeded.
The TRA only covers Taiwan proper and the Penghu archipelago, but should also include Kinmen and Lienchiang County, as well as the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) and Itu Aba (Taiping Island, (太平島), US academic Miles Yu (余茂春) said during an April 13 seminar to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the TRA
Furthermore, the TRA uses the term “the people on Taiwan,” which would include any foreign visitor, so that should be revised to specify “the people of Taiwan” or “the Taiwanese people,” said Yu, who served as the China policy advisor to former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
However, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink on Tuesday said that the TRA serves as a “foundational element” for the US’ “one China” policy and that there is no need to change it.
“We have been able to engage in multiple initiatives and extensive cooperation with Taiwan, because the TRA provides the authorities [a basis] to carry out our unofficial relationship,” Kritenbrink said. “We have the framework we need. We don’t need to change it. What we need is to respond to the present moment, using all the tools at our disposal.”
The TRA was enacted in April 1979, after the administration of then-US president Jimmy Carter switched diplomatic recognition from the Taiwan to China and has served as the legal framework guiding the US’ unofficial relations with Taiwan.
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