A China watcher has warned that the delay by the U.S. House of Representatives in passing the foreign aid bill is playing into Beijing's hands.
Ryan Hass, Director of John L. Thornton China Center at the Washington think tank Brookings Institution, said the delay would allow Beijing to air skepticism over the U.S. support for Taiwan.
"By refusing to vote on whether to extend aid to Ukraine and provide support to Taiwan (and Israel), the House leadership is validating Beijing's argument that the U.S. cannot be depended upon during a crisis. The House leadership won't even allow a vote on the matter now," Hass wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The concerns about the delay come as Beijing's gray-zone military activity around Taiwan continues and Taipei is seeking U.S. support to boost its defenses.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate passed a $95.3 billion foreign military bill to fund aid packages for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. The latest move on the bill will pave the way for the House to review the bill, including $4.83 billion in aid to assist Taiwan.
Washington engages with Taipei under the Taiwan Relations Act (TAR), which allows the two sides to maintain unofficial ties. Washington believes its use of policy to boost Taiwan's defenses falls within the TAR. Beijing wants the U.S. to stop sending weapons to Taiwan, a demand that Chinese leader Xi Jinping repeated when he met President Joe Biden in San Francisco in November 2023.
On Monday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said that the House would be unlikely to take up the foreign military aid bill that the Senate passed.
"Beijing would like to convince Taiwan's voters that they shouldn't place their trust in America to defend them. These views have a natural audience in Taiwan, where a portion of the public is skeptical that the U.S. would come to Taiwan's defense in crisis," Hass added.
Hass, a former U.S. diplomat who has served both in Taipei and Beijing, also warned that U.S. deterrence may fail if the political divisions continue to play out in the House.
"I hope House leaders match words to actions. Strong expressions of support for Taiwan without tangible actions are worse than useless. They are fodder for Beijing's propaganda efforts to paint the U.S. as wavering and unreliable. We should talk less, do more," Hass wrote.
Chinese experts have argued the U.S. strategy to defend Taiwan may not work. Military expert Song Zhongping told the Chinese nationalist outlet Global Times that the cost for the U.S. to arm Taiwan will only increase over time.
"With the strength gap between Beijing and Washington narrowing, the cost for the U.S. in seeking a military deterrence against the Chinese mainland on Taiwan island will become greater, while the effect will be increasingly limited," Song told Global Times in December.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Aadil Brar is a reporter for Newsweek based in Taipei, Taiwan. He covers international security, U.S.-China relations, and East Asian ... Read more
