A US Senate committee has passed a pro-Taiwan bill that its sponsors call the most comprehensive structuring of US-Taiwan ties in more than four decades. The Taiwan Policy Act would guarantee US$4.5 billion of security support for the country over the next four years.
The bill passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee by 17 votes to 5 on Wednesday.
Some of the bill’s provisions have already changed. Lawmakers removed a clause that would have given Taiwan the status of “major non-NATO ally.”
Senators also softened language calling for Taiwan to be allowed to change the name of its US office to include the word “Taiwan.” Right now, the office uses the word “Taipei” to avoid offending China, which sees Taiwan as part of its territory.
But Taiwan’s government has still welcomed the bill. It says it will monitor the bill’s development closely.
The Taiwan Policy Act now faces a vote in the Senate, but it’s not clear when that will happen. If the Senate approves the bill, it will go to the House of Representatives, before President Joe Biden decides whether to sign it into law.