II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 878 

To foster security in Taiwan, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 26, 2019 

Mr. COTTON (for himself, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. CRUZ, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, and Mr. COONS) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To foster security in Taiwan, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Taiwan Assurance Act 

5 of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) April 10, 2019, marks the 40th anniversary 

9 of the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 (Public Law 

10 96–8). 


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1 (2) Since 1949, the close relationship between 

2 the United States and Taiwan has been of enormous 

3 benefit to both parties and to the Indo-Pacific region 

4 as a whole. 

5 (3) The security of Taiwan and its democracy 

6 are key elements for the continued peace and sta7 bility of the greater Indo-Pacific region, and a vital 

8 national security interest of the United States. 

9 (4) The military balance of power across the 

10 Taiwan Strait continues to shift in favor of the Peo11 ple’s Republic of China, which is currently engaged 

12 in a comprehensive military modernization campaign 

13 to enhance the power-projection capabilities of the 

14 People’s Liberation Army and its ability to conduct 

15 joint operations. 

16 (5) Taiwan and its diplomatic partners continue 

17 to face sustained pressure and coercion from the 

18 Government of the People’s Republic of China to 

19 isolate Taiwan from the international community. 

20 (6) It is the policy of the United States to rein21 force its commitments to Taiwan under the Taiwan 

22 Relations Act in a manner consistent with the ‘‘Six 

23 Assurances’’ and in accordance with the United 

24 States ‘‘One China’’ policy as both governments 

25 work to improve bilateral relations. 


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1 (7) In the Taiwan Travel Act, which became 

2 law on March 16, 2018, Congress observed that the 

3 ‘‘self-imposed restrictions that the United States 

4 maintains’’ on relations with Taiwan have negative 

5 consequences for the United States-Taiwan relation6 ship. 

7 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

8 It is the sense of Congress that— 

9 (1) Taiwan is a vital part of the United States 

10 Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy; 

11 (2) the United States Government— 

12 (A) supports Taiwan’s implementation of 

13 its asymmetric defense strategy; and 

14 (B) urges Taiwan to increase its defense 

15 spending in order to fully resource its defense 

16 strategy; 

17 (3) the United States should conduct regular 

18 transfers of defense articles to Taiwan in order to 

19 enhance its self-defense capabilities, particularly its 

20 efforts to develop and integrate asymmetric capabili21 ties, including undersea warfare and air defense ca22 pabilities, into its military forces; and 

23 (4) in 2019, the United State Trade Represent24 ative should resume meetings under the United 

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1 work Agreement with the goal of reaching a bilateral 

2 free trade agreement. 

3 SEC. 4. TAIWAN’S INCLUSION IN INTERNATIONAL ORGANI4 ZATIONS. 

5 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con6 gress that the People’s Republic of China’s attempts to 

7 exclude Taiwan from international organizations— 

8 (1) are detrimental to global health, civilian air 

9 safety, and efforts to counter transnational crime; 

10 and 

11 (2) are a national security concern of the 

12 United States. 

13 (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

14 United States to advocate for Taiwan’s meaningful par15 ticipation in the United Nations, the World Health Assem16 bly, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the 

17 International Criminal Police Organization, and other 

18 international bodies as appropriate. 

19 SEC. 5. REVIEW OF DEPARTMENT OF STATE TAIWAN 

20 GUIDELINES. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

22 date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall con23 duct a review of the Department of State’s guidance on 

24 diplomatic practice with Taiwan, including the periodic 

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1 wan’’ and related documents, and reissue the guidance to 

2 executive branch agencies and offices. 

3 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con4 gress that the Department of State’s guidance regarding 

5 relations with Taiwan— 

6 (1) should be crafted with the intent to deepen 

7 and expand United States-Taiwan relations, and be 

8 based on the value, merits, and importance of the 

9 United States-Taiwan relationship; 

10 (2) should acknowledge the reality that Taiwan 

11 is governed by a representative democratic govern12 ment that is peacefully constituted through free and 

13 fair elections that reflect the will of the people of 

14 Taiwan, and that Taiwan is a free and open society 

15 that respects universal human rights and democratic 

16 values; and 

17 (3) should ensure that any distinctions in diplo18 matic practice regarding relations with Taiwan must 

19 be consistent with the longstanding, comprehensive, 

20 strategic, and values-based relationship the United 

21 States shares with Taiwan, and contribute to the 

22 peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues. 


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1 SEC. 6. ENHANCING THE U.S.-TAIWAN DEFENSE RELATION2 SHIP. 

3 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con4 gress that it should be the policy of the Department of 

5 Defense to support Taiwan’s asymmetric defense strategy, 

6 including the development of Taiwan’s undersea warfare 

7 and air defense capabilities. 

8 (b) REQUIRED DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AC9 TIONS.—The Secretary of Defense shall make efforts to 

10 include Taiwanese forces in bilateral and multilateral mili11 tary exercises, as appropriate, to bolster Taiwan’s defense 

12 capabilities. 

13 (c) DEFENSE ATTACHE ́.—The Chief of the Liaison 

14 Affairs section at the American Institute in Taiwan shall 

15 be a general or flag officer. 

16 SEC. 7. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

17 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact18 ment of this Act, the President shall submit a report to 

19 the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and 

20 the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep21 resentatives that includes a description of— 

22 (1) the results of the President’s review of guid23 ance on diplomatic practice with Taiwan, including 

24 a copy of the reissued ‘‘Guidelines of Relations with 

25 Taiwan’’ memorandum; and 


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1 (2) the implementation of the Taiwan Travel 

2 Act (Public Law 115–135). 

Æ 


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