Congress Weighs Taiwan Defense and Cross

Why It Matters A central tension in U.S.-Taiwan policy centers on how the United States can support Taiwan’s defense without triggering a cross-Strait conflict. A Congressional Research Service (CRS) report finds that tension is sharpening as arms-transfer decisions, Taiwan’s own budget politics, and PRC military pressure converge. ? According to the report, the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) states that it is U.S. policy to make defense articles and services available to Taiwan and to maintain the capacity of the United States to resist force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security or the social or economic system…