http://www.state.gov/p/eap/rls/rm/2014/04/224350.htm
Evaluating U.S. Policy on Taiwan on the 35th Anniversary of the Taiwan
Relations Act
Testimony
Daniel R. Russel
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Testimony Before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Subcommittee on
East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Washington, DC
April 3, 2014
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Introduction
Thank you for inviting me to this special subcommittee meeting on Taiwan.
Next week is the 35th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA). I wish
to commend you, Mr. Chairman, for your leadership and many years of strong
interest on behalf of U.S.-Taiwan relations and their role in regional
prosperity and stability.
The unofficial U.S.-Taiwan relationship has never been stronger than it is
today, and it underscores our firm commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act.
Strengthening our relations with Taiwan and our longstanding friendship with
the people on Taiwan remains a key element of the U.S. strategic rebalance to
the Asia-Pacific. U.S.-Taiwan relations are grounded in history, respect for
democracy and human rights, respect for international rules and norms, a
growing economic partnership, and enduring security cooperation.
Taiwan’s status today as a top 20 world economy is a testimony to the
diligence of the people on Taiwan and to the success of the TRA. It is a
leading player in regional development, conservation, and assistance efforts
– as it confidently engages the People’s Republic of China.
The United States has an abiding interest in peace and stability across the
Strait. Toward that end, the United States supports and encourages
improvements in cross-Strait relations, albeit at a pace acceptable to the
people on both sides. Strong United States support for Taiwan autonomy also
helps give our friends in Taiwan the confidence to strengthen their
cross-Strait relations, as we have seen in recent years. At the same time, we
support Taiwan’s effort to participate in the international community in a
manner befitting a large economy and modern society with a great deal to
contribute.
Economic and Cultural Ties
The United States’ substantive and robust unofficial relations with Taiwan
have developed markedly under the framework of the TRA over the past 35
years, allowing us to cooperate in a wide range of mutually beneficial areas
including energy, the environment, and scientific research, to name a few.
Over the past 35 years, Taiwan has grown to be one of the world’s largest
economies; today Taiwan is our 12th-largest trading partner and a top-10
destination for U.S. agricultural and food exports. There also is significant
two-way direct investment that spurs growth in both of our economies, with
over $16 billion of direct investment positions by U.S. firms in Taiwan in
2012 and close to $8 billion of foreign direct investment from Taiwan in the
United States during the same period.
Taiwan was the sixth largest source of international students in the United
States through the 2012-2013 academic year. On a proportional basis, Taiwan
sends more students to the United States than even mainland China or India.
In terms of absolute numbers, Taiwan sends more students to the United States
than Japan, Mexico, Turkey, Brazil, or the UK do.
The Visa Waiver Program (VWP), to which Taiwan was admitted in November 2012,
has led to increased tourist and business travel from Taiwan. Foreign
visitors to the United States generate stateside jobs, and we are pleased
that in the eight months after Taiwan joined the VWP Taiwan travel to the
United States increased more than 29 percent.
We work cooperatively with Taiwan on many issues of importance to the region
and the international community, to include WHO efforts on pandemic
prevention, detection and treatment; APEC and WTO efforts to expand trade and
investment opportunities; and UN and NGO efforts to promote responsible civil
aviation and environmental protection.
We have a very busy and active agenda with Taiwan to discuss substantive
areas of cooperation and mutual interests. For example, just recently:
A Commerce Department Deputy Assistant Secretary participated in an APEC
Working Group meeting hosted by Taiwan and then worked with the American
Institute in Taiwan (AIT) to promote U.S. exports to Taiwan and encourage
more business investment in the United States from Taiwan. Taiwan has been
identified as a focus market under the SelectUSA program to promote and
facilitate foreign direct investment to the United States. A single Taiwan
company is now engaged in a $2 billion expansion of its petrochemical
facilities in the United States, and promotion of the United States as an
investment destination could generate several billion more dollars in Taiwan
investment in the coming years.
One of my State Department colleagues participated in a regional meeting of
Fulbright Executive Directors, hosted in Taiwan this year, to promote
scholarly exchanges, international education, and people-to-people outreach.
Taiwan’s mature Fulbright program serves as a model of cultural exchange to
the region and the world.
And another State Department colleague met with AIT and Taiwan authorities to
discuss Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations and
Taiwan’s ability to contribute to humanitarian assistance and disaster
relief efforts in the region. We were pleased in September 2013 to see Taiwan
invited to participate in the General Assembly of the International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO), and we would like to build on that success in a
variety of organizations.
We are also very active on the economic and commercial front. In March 2013,
we resumed our engagement with Taiwan under our Trade and Investment
Framework Agreement (TIFA). Through the TIFA we are addressing a number of
U.S. and Taiwan trade and investment concerns, including in the areas of
agriculture, intellectual property rights (IPR), investment, pharmaceuticals
and medical devices, and technical barriers to trade. We have made progress
in this forum since its resumption last year and look forward to a productive
TIFA meeting on April 4. We look forward to learning more about Taiwan’s
economic reforms spurred by President Ma’s New Year Address.
The Department of Commerce leads the SelectUSA program that promotes business
investment in the United States. For our part, we encourage U.S. state and
local governments to include Taiwan among the destinations for their business
development missions. Among the factors that are luring corporate leaders in
Taiwan to take a close look at the United States as a manufacturing hub or as
an export platform are the strong rule of law and protection for intellectual
property rights that we enjoy in the United States; the research and
development capabilities of U.S. companies, universities, and laboratories;
and the price and supply of natural gas in the United States.
In October 2013, Taiwan sent one of the largest delegations to the SelectUSA
Summit organized by the Department of Commerce. In November, Taiwan's former
Vice President Vincent Siew led an impressive delegation of Taiwan CEOs to
the United States, with over $2 billion of new or ongoing investments in the
United States announced during the visit. We are now looking at how to
regularize these kinds of business exchanges.
The United States remains by far the largest investor in Asia, as well as on
Taiwan. The number of registered Americans living on Taiwan increased 2.7
percent in 2013 to 67,510 people. The United States remains one of Taiwan
travelers’ most popular tourist destinations.
In 2013 the United States and Taiwan celebrated 20 years of environmental
cooperation, during which time Taiwan made huge strides in reducing pollution
and becoming a regional leader in environmental best practices. We are
working with Taiwan authorities to identify productive ways for them to share
their experiences and lessons learned in this field with countries in the
region and beyond.
In addition, we enjoy ongoing and robust exchanges with Taiwan defense and
military service leadership personnel.
Security Ties
Consistent with the Taiwan Relations Act and the United States’ one China
policy including the three communiques, the United States makes available to
Taiwan defense articles and defense services in such quantity as may be
necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability.
This long-standing policy contributes to the maintenance of peace and
stability across the Taiwan Strait.
The TRA states that peace and stability in the Western Pacific area “are in
the political, security, and economic interests of the United States, and are
matters of international concern.” This is as true today as it was in 1979,
if not more so. It also asserts a U.S. policy to “maintain the capacity of
the United States to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion
that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of the
people on Taiwan.” The United States is firmly committed to this policy.
As China’s economy and military spending grow, and China continues to carry
out military deployments and exercises aimed at Taiwan, it is more important
than ever for Taiwan to invest sufficiently in a professional military force
that uses asymmetry, innovation, and other defensive advantages to deter
potential attempts at coercion or aggression. For its part, the Obama
administration has notified to Congress over $12 billion of sales of
defensive equipment and materials to Taiwan. This is a tangible sign of our
determination to assist Taiwan in maintaining a sufficient self-defense.
Our security relations with Taiwan are about much more than arms sales. The
United States engages in a wide range of consultations and exchanges with
Taiwan in order to assist Taiwan armed forces as they seek to maintain, train
and equip a capable, effective self-defense capability.
Taiwan does not formally participate in international coalitions or
exercises. However, Taiwan uses defensive materials and services provided by
the United States to enhance its humanitarian assistance capacity. Taiwan
plays an increasingly significant role in disaster relief, such as after the
2008 Sichuan earthquake; after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan;
after Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013 in the Philippines and in Palau; and
immediately after the disappearance last month of Malaysia Air 370 when
international participants were focusing on searching the South China Sea.
Our support for Taiwan’s security and its defensive needs has given Taipei
confidence in its engagements with Beijing, leading Taiwan to sign an
unprecedented number of economic and cultural cross-Strait agreements. Soon
there will be more than 800 direct flights a week between Taiwan and the
mainland, something unthinkable a decade ago. Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs
Office Director Wang Yu-chi recently traveled to the mainland for meetings
with his PRC counterpart, Director Zhang Zhijun of the PRC’s Taiwan Affairs
Office. The United States continues to support these and other cross-Strait
dialogues at a pace acceptable to people on both sides of the Strait, and
remains committed to supporting Taiwan's ability to engage in such discourse
free from coercion.
The United States welcomes Taiwan’s efforts to resolve disputes peacefully,
approach territorial and maritime disputes pragmatically, and share resources
in these disputed areas. For example, in 2013 Taiwan reached a fisheries
agreement with Japan that allows both sides to fish in the East China Sea,
and also resolved a fisheries incident with the Philippines through
consultation. These examples serve as a model for the region of Taiwan’s
ability to peacefully resolve maritime issues through diplomatic means.
International Space for Taiwan
As a top 20 world economy and a WTO and APEC member, Taiwan has a strong role
to play in the Asia-Pacific region and worldwide. Taiwan participates in
about 60 international organizations as well as hundreds of international
NGOs.
We are pleased that since 2009 Taiwan has been invited each year to
participate in the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer, and we expect
Taiwan to participate in next month’s WHA as well. We think Taiwan’s status
at the WHA also should allow for more meaningful participation in the work of
the World Health Organization, through greater inclusion in technical and
expert meetings, including those related to the Pandemic Influenza
Preparedness Framework (PIP) and the International Food Safety Authorities
Network (INFOSAN). In September 2013, Taiwan was invited as a guest to the
triennial ICAO Assembly in Montreal, and we look forward to Taiwan’s
expanded participation in ICAO. Through a Taiwan NGO, Taiwan also observes
and participates in the United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Climate
Change.
The United States supports Taiwan’s membership in international
organizations where statehood is not a requirement for membership, and we
encourage Taiwan’s meaningful participation in other organizations. U.S.
goals for supporting Taiwan’s participation include: enabling the people on
Taiwan to comply with international regulations and safety, addressing
trans-border health issues, facilitating international travel, giving and
receiving appropriate international assistance and advice, and assisting in
capacity-building.
Consistent with this longstanding policy, the State Department encourages the
UN, its agencies, and other international organizations to increase Taiwan’s
meaningful participation in technical and expert meetings. Taiwan has the
resources and expertise to play a constructive role in the work of those
agencies.
Conclusion
AIT and many U.S. departments and agencies have meaningful, substantive
engagements with Taiwan as part of our strong commercial, cultural and other
relations. Looking forward, we see increased opportunities for cooperation on
issues concerning trade, health, cultural exchanges, and security, and we
remain committed to seizing them.
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, I thank you again for the
opportunity to appear today to highlight the strength and durability of ties
between the people of the United States and the people on Taiwan. Taiwan has
earned a respected place in the world. Thanks to the Taiwan Relations Act,
over the past 35 years, the United States and Taiwan have enjoyed a firm
foundation of friendship that we continue to build today.
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