TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A US House committee on Thursday advanced a bill package that includes measures to codify the Six Assurances and create a fund to help Taiwan counter China.

The US House Foreign Affairs Committee's proposed legislation includes two Taiwan-related acts: the Taiwan Allies Fund Act and the Six Assurances to Taiwan Act, per CNA. The first authorizes funding to help Taiwan preserve its diplomatic allies, while the second seeks to codify the Six Assurances into US law, prohibiting any changes without congressional approval.

Both measures were introduced by Raja Krishnamoorthi, the ranking Democrat on the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the US and the Chinese Communist Party. They were recently merged into the broader State Department Reauthorization Bills and cleared the committee on Thursday evening.

The Taiwan Allies Fund Act authorizes the executive branch to allocate NT$3.6 billion (US$120 million) over three years to assist Taiwan’s diplomatic allies and unofficial partners facing Chinese pressure. Eligible recipients must maintain official or strengthened unofficial ties with Taiwan, face coercion from China, and lack the political or economic capacity to respond without US support.

The Six Assurances to Taiwan Act requires that former President Ronald Reagan administration’s Six Assurances be codified into law and prevents any future administration from altering them without congressional approval. The bill interprets the Six Assurances to mean that the US:

1. Did not agree to set a date for ending arms sales to Taiwan
2. Did not agree to consult with the People’s Republic of China on arms sales to Taiwan
3. Did not and will not agree to play any mediation role
4. Did not agree to revise the Taiwan Relations Act
5. Did not take any position regarding the issue of sovereignty over Taiwan
6. Will not exert pressure on Taiwan to enter into negotiations with the People’s Republic of China

Successive US administrations since Reagan have reaffirmed the Six Assurances, and they have been cited in laws such as the Taiwan Relations Act and the National Defense Authorization Act. However, unlike the Taiwan Relations Act, they have never been formally codified

Krishnamoorthi said, “By advancing these bipartisan provisions, Congress is sending a clear signal: America will stand firm with Taiwan against coercion and intimidation from the Chinese Communist Party.”