II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 477 

To authorize the President to use military force for the purpose of securing 

and defending Taiwan against armed attack, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 16, 2023 

Mr. SCOTT of Florida introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To authorize the President to use military force for the 

purpose of securing and defending Taiwan against armed 

attack, 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 Invasion Pre5 vention Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF UNITED STATES ARMED 

FORCES 


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Sec. 101. Findings; sense of Congress. 

Sec. 102. Authorization for use of United States Armed Forces. 

TITLE II—OTHER MATTERS 

Sec. 201. Regional security dialogue to improve security relationships in the 

Western Pacific area. 

Sec. 202. United States-Taiwan bilateral trade agreement. 

Sec. 203. United States-Taiwan combined military exercises and related actions. 

Sec. 204. Sense of Congress regarding United States support for defending 

Taiwan. 

Sec. 205. High-level visits. 

Sec. 206. Sense of Congress regarding address to joint session of Congress by 

President of Taiwan. 

1 TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION FOR 

2 USE OF UNITED STATES 

3 ARMED FORCES 

4 SEC. 101. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Taiwan is a free and prosperous democracy 

7 of nearly 24,000,000 people and is an important 

8 contributor to peace and stability around the world. 

9 (2) Section 2(b) of the Taiwan Relations Act 

10 (Public Law 96–8; 22 U.S.C. 3301(b)) states that it 

11 is the policy of the United States— 

12 (A) ‘‘to preserve and promote extensive, 

13 close, and friendly commercial, cultural, and 

14 other relations between the people of the United 

15 States and the people on Taiwan, as well as the 

16 people on the China mainland and all other peo17 ples of the Western Pacific area’’; 


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1 (B) ‘‘to declare that peace and stability in 

2 the area are in the political, security, and eco3 nomic interests of the United States, and are 

4 matters of international concern’’; 

5 (C) ‘‘to make clear that the United States 

6 decision to establish diplomatic relations with 

7 the People’s Republic of China rests upon the 

8 expectation that the future of Taiwan will be 

9 determined by peaceful means’’; 

10 (D) ‘‘to consider any effort to determine 

11 the future of Taiwan by other than peaceful 

12 means, including by boycotts or embargoes, a 

13 threat to the peace and security of the Western 

14 Pacific area and of grave concern to the United 

15 States’’; 

16 (E) ‘‘to provide Taiwan with arms of a de17 fensive character’’; and 

18 (F) ‘‘to maintain the capacity of the 

19 United States to resist any resort to force or 

20 other forms of coercion that would jeopardize 

21 the security, or the social or economic system, 

22 of the people on Taiwan’’. 

23 (3) Since the election of President Tsai Ing-wen 

24 as President of Taiwan in 2016, the Government of 

25 the People’s Republic of China has intensified its efVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 Mar 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S477.IS S477

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1 forts to pressure Taiwan through diplomatic isola2 tion and military provocations. 

3 (4) The rapid modernization of the People’s 

4 Liberation Army and recent military maneuvers in 

5 and around the Taiwan Strait illustrate a clear 

6 threat to Taiwan’s security. 

7 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con8 gress that— 

9 (1) both the United States and Taiwan have 

10 made significant strides since 1979 in bolstering 

11 their defense relationship; 

12 (2) the People’s Republic of China has dramati13 cally increased the capability of its military forces 

14 since 1979; 

15 (3) the People’s Republic of China has in recent 

16 years increased the use of its military forces to har17 ass and provoke Taiwan with the threat of over18 whelming force; and 

19 (4) it is the policy of the United States to con20 sider any effort to determine the future of Taiwan 

21 by anything other than peaceful means, including by 

22 boycotts or embargoes, a threat to the peace and se23 curity of the Western Pacific area, and of grave con24 cern to the United States. 


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1 SEC. 102. AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF UNITED STATES 

2 ARMED FORCES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President is authorized to 

4 use the Armed Forces of the United States and take such 

5 other measures as the President determines to be nec6 essary and appropriate in order to secure and protect Tai7 wan against— 

8 (1) a direct armed attack by the military forces 

9 of the People’s Republic of China against the mili10 tary forces of Taiwan; 

11 (2) the taking of territory under the effective 

12 jurisdiction of Taiwan by the military forces of the 

13 People’s Republic of China; or 

14 (3) the endangering of the lives of members of 

15 the military forces of Taiwan or civilians within the 

16 effective jurisdiction of Taiwan in cases in which 

17 such members or civilians have been killed or are in 

18 imminent danger of being killed. 

19 (b) WAR POWERS RESOLUTION REQUIREMENTS.— 

20 (1) SPECIFIC STATUTORY AUTHORIZATION.— 

21 Consistent with section 8(a)(1) of the War Powers 

22 Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1547(a)(1)), Congress de23 clares that this section is intended to constitute spe24 cific statutory authorization within the meaning of 

25 section 5(b) of the War Powers Resolution (50 

26 U.S.C. 1544(b)). 


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1 (2) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER REQUIRE2 MENTS.—Nothing in this Act may be construed to 

3 supersede any requirement of the War Powers Reso4 lution (50 U.S.C. 1541 et seq.). 

5 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con6 gress that, at the earliest possible date after the date of 

7 the enactment of this Act, the President should release 

8 a public declaration that it is the policy of the United 

9 States to secure and protect Taiwan against any action 

10 of the People’s Republic of China described in paragraph 

11 (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (a). 

12 (d) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

13 United States to demand that the People’s Republic of 

14 China officially renounce the use or threat of military 

15 force in any attempt to unify with Taiwan. 

16 (e) AUTHORIZATION PERIOD.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The authorization for use of 

18 the Armed Forces under this section shall expire on 

19 the date that is 5 years after the date of the enact20 ment of this Act. 

21 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

22 Congress that the authorization for use of the 

23 Armed Forces under this section should be reauthor24 ized by a subsequent Act of Congress. 


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1 TITLE II—OTHER MATTERS 

2 SEC. 201. REGIONAL SECURITY DIALOGUE TO IMPROVE SE3 CURITY RELATIONSHIPS IN THE WESTERN 

4 PACIFIC AREA. 

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

6 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of De7 fense, in coordination with the Secretary of State and the 

8 heads of other relevant Federal agencies, as appropriate, 

9 shall seek to convene, on an annual basis, a regional secu10 rity dialogue with the Government of Taiwan and the gov11 ernments of like-minded security partners to improve the 

12 security relationships among the United States and such 

13 countries in the Western Pacific area. 

14 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The regional secu15 rity dialogue may consider matters relating to— 

16 (1) coordinating lower-level military-to-military 

17 dialogue; and 

18 (2) planning for potential military confrontation 

19 scenarios. 

20 SEC. 202. UNITED STATES-TAIWAN BILATERAL TRADE 

21 AGREEMENT. 

22 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact23 ment of this Act, the United States Trade Representative 

24 should seek to enter into negotiations with representatives 


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1 from Taiwan to establish a bilateral trade agreement be2 tween the United States and Taiwan. 

3 SEC. 203. UNITED STATES-TAIWAN COMBINED MILITARY 

4 EXERCISES AND RELATED ACTIONS. 

5 (a) COMBINED MILITARY EXERCISES.—The Sec6 retary of Defense, in coordination with the heads of other 

7 relevant Federal agencies, should seek to carry out a pro8 gram of combined military exercises between the United 

9 States, Taiwan, and, if feasible, other United States allies 

10 and partners to improve military coordination and rela11 tions with Taiwan. 

12 (b) COMBINED DISASTER RELIEF EXERCISES.—The 

13 Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the heads of 

14 other relevant Federal agencies, should engage with their 

15 counterparts in Taiwan to organize combined disaster and 

16 humanitarian relief exercises. 

17 (c) TAIWAN STRAIT TRANSITS, FREEDOM OF NAVI18 GATION OPERATIONS, AND PRESENCE OPERATIONS.— 

19 The Secretary of Defense should consider increasing tran20 sits through the Taiwan Strait, freedom of navigation op21 erations in the Taiwan Strait, and presence operations in 

22 the Western Pacific by the United States Navy, including 

23 in conjunction with United States allies and partners. 

24 (d) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con25 gress that Taiwan should dedicate additional domestic reVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 Mar 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S477.IS S477

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1 sources toward advancing its military readiness for pur2 poses of defending Taiwan, including through— 

3 (1) steady increases in annual defense spending 

4 as a share of gross domestic product; 

5 (2) procurements of defense technologies that 

6 directly bolster Taiwan’s asymmetric defense capa7 bilities; 

8 (3) reform of Taiwan’s military reserves, includ9 ing increasing the length of training required and 

10 number of days required in service annually; 

11 (4) participation with United States Armed 

12 Forces in combined military exercises; and 

13 (5) further engagement with the United States 

14 on strengthening Taiwan’s cyber capabilities. 

15 SEC. 204. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING UNITED 

16 STATES SUPPORT FOR DEFENDING TAIWAN. 

17 It is the sense of Congress that— 

18 (1) given the security considerations posed by 

19 the People’s Republic of China, the Secretary of 

20 State should accelerate the approval of sales of de21 fense articles and services to Taiwan for purposes of 

22 defending Taiwan; and 

23 (2) the Secretary of Defense should offer sup24 port to Taiwan by— 


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1 (A) continuing to send United States mili2 tary advisors to Taiwan for training purposes; 

3 (B) encouraging members of the United 

4 States Armed Forces to enroll in Taiwan’s Na5 tional Defense University; 

6 (C) maintaining a significant United 

7 States naval presence within a close proximity 

8 to Taiwan; and 

9 (D) reestablishing the Taiwan Patrol 

10 Force under the direction of the United States 

11 Navy. 

12 SEC. 205. HIGH-LEVEL VISITS. 

13 (a) VISIT TO TAIWAN BY PRESIDENT OF THE

14 UNITED STATES.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

15 of the enactment of this Act, the President or the Sec16 retary of State (if designated by the President), with ap17 propriate interagency consultation and participation, 

18 should arrange a meeting in Taiwan with the President 

19 of Taiwan. 

20 (b) VISIT TO THE UNITED STATES BY PRESIDENT

21 OF TAIWAN.—It is the sense of Congress that the United 

22 States would benefit from a meeting in the United States 

23 between the President or the Secretary of State and the 

24 President of Taiwan. 


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1 SEC. 206. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING ADDRESS TO 

2 JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS BY PRESIDENT 

3 OF TAIWAN. 

4 It is the sense of Congress that it would be beneficial 

5 for the United States and Taiwan to invite the President 

6 of Taiwan to address a joint session of Congress and sub7 sequently participate in a roundtable discussion with mem8 bers of Congress. 

Æ 


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