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The Administration strongly opposes H.R. 1838 because it would seriously
diminish Taiwan's security and undermine the important U.S. objective of
stability in Asia. If H.R. 1838 were presented to the President in its
current form, his senior advisers would recommend that it be vetoed.
This bill would mandate a number of new security and military arrangements
with Taiwan that could create dangerous, false, and inaccurate expectations
on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Movement toward a more formal military
relationship also could have other serious unintended negative
consequences, such as diminishing prospects for cross-Strait dialogue and
the peaceful resolution of differences. In addition, several of the bill's
provisions (sections 4(b), 5(b), and 5(d)) raise constitutional concerns
because they interfere with the President's broad authority to control the
disclosure of information about foreign negotiations and other sensitive
national security and foreign relations information, his authority as
Commander-in-Chief, and his ability to carry out his responsibilities for
the conduct of the nation's foreign relations.
The Administration remains firmly committed to fulfilling the security and
arms transfer provisions of the Taiwan Relations Act, which helps to ensure
the security of Taiwan. At the same time, we continue to press the
People's Republic of China to exercise restraint on military deployments,
make progress in cross-Strait dialogue, and initiate confidence-building
measures with Taiwan.
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