China criticises US President Trump signing 'Taiwan Assurance Act' into a law

Washington/Taipei: – President Trump has signed the Taiwan Assurance Act, guaranteeing weapons assistance and strong support on the international level for Taiwan. For strengthening relations with Taiwan, this bill had been passed by the US Congress in the last year itself. It is being said that the scope of cooperation with Taiwan will increase further as the bill is now converted into a law. An aggressive reaction has been received from China, following the bill’s approval by President Trump, and China has warned the United States to stop interfering in the internal Chinese matter through the Taiwan issue.

The United States has initiated a strong diplomatic conflict with China against the trade war and Coronavirus pandemic. The issues like Hong Kong, Taiwan and Tibet, which are sensitive for the Chinese communist regime, are being consistently targeted. Taiwan Assurance Act becomes the decisive phase in the campaign. There are four vital provisions in this act. The first provision is strengthening the US-Taiwan bilateral cooperation.

The second provision is encouraging the defence preparedness of Taiwan. As per the third provision, the United States will support Taiwanese participation in various agencies on the international level. These will include the United Nations and other linked organisations. The provision sanctioning USD 3 million for US-Taiwan Global Cooperation and Trading Framework is also included in the act.

US President Donald Trump has taken a very active stand on the issue of cooperation with Taiwan. The diplomatic office started by the United States in Taiwan, the meeting between US National Security Advisor and the Taiwanese leaders and the increasing defence cooperation are believed to be a part of the Trump strategy. Two senior US officials have visited Taiwan in the last four months. At the same time, an independent bill, Taiwan Invasion Prevention Act, has also been presented in the US Congress for Taiwan’s security. President Trump also took the historic decision to supply fighter jets to Taiwan after a lapse of three decades. Following that, Taiwan is being supplied advanced missiles, Torpedoes and advanced defence systems. The United States has also increased its deployment in the marine region near Taiwan. The movement of destroyers, drones, fighter jets and surveillance aircraft, and the aircraft carriers have grown in the area. At the beginning of this month, the US department of state announced the supply of military equipment worth USD 280 million to Taiwan. This is the 11th arms assistance announced by the Trump administration for Taiwan.

Analysts claim that the scope and speed of US cooperation with Taiwan will increase with the enactment of the Taiwan Assurance Act. This increasing closeness between the United States and Taiwan is becoming very disturbing for China, and China has fired a salvo of criticism against the act. The Chinese foreign ministry warned, ‘The United States should stop interfering in the internal Chinese matters by using the Taiwan issue.’