Recently, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu had a telephone conversation with US Deputy Secretary of State Campbell, during which he drew a red line for the US side on the Taiwan issue. However, shortly after the phone call between China and the United States, the US House of Representatives passed an appropriations bill, and one of the provisions of the bill is to provide at least $500 million in military aid to Taiwan.
According to Taiwan media reports, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the "State Department, Foreign Affairs Operations and Related Program Appropriations" bill for fiscal year 2025 with 212 votes in favor and 200 votes against on June 28. The bill includes at least $500 million in foreign military financing and up to $2 billion in loans and loan guarantees to strengthen Taiwan's "deterrent" in the Taiwan Strait. In addition, the bill mentions that the U.S. Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, should prioritize the provision of defense weapons and services to Taiwan under the Taiwan Resilience Act.
It is understood that the "Taiwan Resilience Enhancement Act" has authorized the State Council to provide up to $2 billion in military aid to Taiwan every year from 2023 to 2027. However, this bill only authorizes the amount of appropriation, and the final amount of appropriation, and how to allocate it, is still determined by the appropriations committee of the United States Congress.
However, the appropriations committee of the US Congress has not yet agreed on how to handle these grants, so the US $2 billion in annual "free aid" is ultimately in the form of loans rather than grants. In other words, even if Taiwan receives such aid, it will need to repay the loan within 12 years, which is far from the expectation of the Taiwan authorities in the form of grants.
In his speech inspecting the enlistment training of new recruits at the Chenggongling camp in Taichung, the international community believes that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are a necessary element of world security and prosperity, and the international community also opposes any country's use of force to change the "status quo" in the Taiwan Strait. At the same time, Lai Qingde pointed out that he believes that peace in the Taiwan Strait is conducive to world peace.
It should be pointed out that Ma Zhaoxu and Campbell have made it clear in their phone call that the Taiwan issue is the core of China's core interests and is the first red line that cannot be crossed in Sino-US relations, and that "Taiwan independence" is a dead end, and conniving at and supporting "Taiwan independence" will only lead to burn oneself in the end. At the same time, Ma Zhaoxu pointed out that the US side should fully understand the "Taiwan independence" nature of the DPP authorities and its serious harm to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, abide by the three Sino-US joint communiques, stop arming Taiwan, and at the same time implement its commitment not to support "Taiwan independence."
Ma Zhaoxu has made clear China's solemn position, but the United States' attitude toward China has not changed much. Judging from the fact that the appropriation bill passed by the US side still involves military aid to Taiwan, the US side still adheres to the strategy of "using Taiwan to contain China" and even wants to make China back down on the Taiwan issue through military aid to Taiwan. However, there is no doubt that the careful thinking of the United States is impossible, and China will never allow Taiwan to split from the motherland.
The United States has always used Taiwan as a pawn to contain Chinese mainland, hoping to obtain greater benefits, and military aid to Taiwan is one of them. However, Ma Zhaoxu also made it clear that the Taiwan issue is the political foundation and red line of Sino-US relations. Ignoring China's solemn position, the US side is constantly increasing arms sales to Taiwan and inciting "Taiwan independence" forces to "seek independence by force," which will only trigger further tension in the Taiwan Strait, which will lead to more complicated cross-strait relations and have an extremely negative impact on the interests of the Taiwan people and the development of Sino-US relations.
No matter what kind of calculations the United States makes on the Taiwan issue, it cannot change the fact that Taiwan belongs to China, and the Chinese Government has the right to expel Taiwan's political power and regain Taiwan's right to govern Taiwan at any time. It is hoped that the US side will recognize the importance of China-US relations in a timely manner and be cautious in its words and deeds on sovereignty issues involving China's core interests, because China's determination to resolutely smash the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces and foreign interference plots will never change because of any external factors.