The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday approved legislation that would give Taiwan $4.5 billion in new aid over the next four years and designate the island as a non-NATO ally. The 17-5 vote in committee sets the bill up for possible consideration in the Senate, but a vote had not been announced as of Wednesday and it is unclear whether the Biden administration will support it. National security officials within the administration have labeled China as America’s “accelerating threat” and have begun the task of planning America’s military capabilities around the possibility of conflict with China. The approval of new funding and support to Taiwan could further escalate tensions with China, as China continues to claim Taiwan as part of the mainland and has stepped up pressure on the US to ignore what China calls an internal issue. CHINA ACCUSES US AND TAIWAN OFFICIALS OF ‘PLAYING WITH FIRE’ WITH UKRAINE COMPARISONS A Chinese military man looks through binoculars during military exercises on August 5, 2022. Taiwan’s frigate Lan Yang is seen in the background. (Lin Jian/Xinhua News Agency via AP) Sen. Bob Menendez, DN.J., rejected the idea that the U.S. cannot help Taiwan more directly. He said his bill would make clear America’s commitment to Taiwan, which would create disincentives for China to threaten a military or economic takeover. “The bill we are passing today makes clear that the United States does not seek war or heightened tensions with Beijing,” Menendez said. “Quite the opposite. We are carefully and strategically reducing the existential threats facing Taiwan by increasing the cost of taking the island by force so that it becomes very high risk and unfeasible.” NANCY PELOSI GOES TO TAIWAN Amid CHINESE THREATS, MILITARY ACTIVITY “As Beijing continues to take coercive diplomatic, political, military and economic measures against Taiwan, today’s strong, bipartisan vote not only signals our unwavering support for the Taiwanese people, but also a recognition of the pivotal role to be played by the Congress of the United States in addressing these challenges,” he added. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, center left, is pictured after receiving the Order of Auspicious Clouds with Special Grand Cordon, Taiwan’s highest political honor, from Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, center right, in the office of the president. (Chien Chih-Hung/Office of the President via Getty Images) CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Despite Menendez’s goals, China was already grumbling at the prospect of a Senate vote. The Chinese government’s Global Times cited Chinese experts as saying that passing the bill would “lead to the complete elimination of the US ‘one China policy’ and that China will take strong countermeasures.” Another source cited by the Chinese newspaper said the bill is “much more serious than Nancy Pelosi’s provocative visit to the island of Taiwan” in August. Committee Chairman Sen. Bob Menendez, DN.J., speaks during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on Sept. 14, 2021. (Drew Angerer/Pool via AP) Pete Kasperowicz is a political editor at Fox News Digital. He can be reached at [email protected] and his Twitter handle is @PeteKDCNews.
