U.S. senators want bigger Inter-American Development Bank role for Taiwan
Reuters
Published Oct 27, 2021 08:57PM ET
By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senior Democratic and Republican U.S. senators introduced legislation on Wednesday seeking Washington's backing for Taiwan's admission to the Inter-American Development Bank as a non-borrowing member.
The bill is part of an ongoing effort in Congress and elsewhere in Washington to boost the international profile of Taiwan, as tensions escalate between the democratic-ruled island and China, which claims it as sovereign territory.
The measure would require the State Department to provide Congress with a strategy to secure diplomatic support for Taiwan's membership, a promotion from its current observer status.
The Senate has already passed legislation directing the State Department to develop a strategy to assist Taiwan in obtaining observer status at the World Health Assembly, the World Health Organization's decision-making body.
"We are committed to continue working to ensure the United States does everything in its power to champion Taiwan’s international engagement and demonstrate our unwavering commitment to the people of Taiwan," Senator Robert Menendez, Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement.
China in recent weeks has staged repeated air missions over the Taiwan Strait, the waterway separating the island and the mainland.
Menendez introduced the bill with Democratic Senators Tim Kaine and Ed Markey and Republican Senators Jim Risch, Jim Inhofe and Marco Rubio. Risch is the top Republican on the foreign relations panel and Inhofe is the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The lawmakers said Taiwan has demonstrated that it can play an important role in the western hemisphere and contributes to the growth of economies in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Separately on Wednesday, President Joe Biden told Southeast Asian nations the United States would stand with them in defending freedom of the seas and democracy and called China's actions toward Taiwan "coercive" and a threat to peace and security.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.