,,ii  #aagth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #bjgc  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,june #af1     
#bjba,mr4 ,hawley 7for himself1 ,mr4    
,tillis1 ,mr4 ,tuberville1 ,mr4 ,daines1
 and ,mr4 ,cornyn7 introduced the       
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,armed   
,services  ,a ,,bill  ,to maintain the  
ability of the ,united ,states ,armed   
,forces to deny a fait accompli by the  
,people's ,republic of ,china against   
,taiwan4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act   
may be cited as the ,taiwan ,defense    
,act of #bjba4  #b4 ,definitions ,in    
this ,act3 7#a7 ,deny ,the term deny    
means to use combined joint operations  
to delay1 degrade1 and ultimately defeat
 an attempt by the ,people's ,republic  
of ,china to execute a fait accompli    
against ,taiwan1 resulting in-- 7,a7 the
 termination of hostilities or at least 
the attempted fait accompli2 or  7,b7   
the neutralization of the ability of the
 ,people's ,republic of ,china to       

execute a fait accompli against ,taiwan4
  7#b7 ,fait accompli ,the term fait    
accompli refers to the strategy of the  
,people's ,republic of ,china for       
invading and seizing control of ,taiwan 
before the ,united ,states ,armed       
,forces can respond effectively1 while  
simultaneously deterring an effective   
combined joint response by the ,united  
,states ,armed ,forces by convincing the
 ,united ,states that mounting such a   
response would be prohibitively         
difficult or costly4  #c4 ,findings     
,congress makes the following findings3 
7#a7 ,taiwan is a beacon of democracy in
 ,asia and a steadfast partner of the   
,united ,states in the common pursuit of
 a free and open ,indo-,pacific region  
in which-- 7,a7 all societies enjoy     
sovereign autonomy2  7,b7 the people of 
the region live securely1 prosperously1 
and with dignity2 and  7,c7 the         
societies of the region rise and fall   
not by coercion but on the basis of     
peaceful competition4  7#b7 ,if the     

,people's ,republic of ,china were to   
use military force to compel the        
unification of ,taiwan with the         
,people's ,republic of ,china-- 7,a7 the
 world would lose one of the great      
exemplars of freedom and democracy2     
7,b7 the ,united ,states and allies and 
partners of the ,united ,states would   
face severe difficulty in maintaining   
favorable balances of power relative to 
the ,people's ,republic of ,china in    
,northeast and ,southeast ,asia2 and    
7,c7 as the balance of power in the     
,indo-,pacific region shifted in favor  
of the ,people's ,republic of ,china1   
the ,people's ,republic of ,china would 
possess an increasing ability to-- 7i7  
impose its will throughout the          
,indo-,pacific region1 including by     
threatening or using force against      
,japan1 ,south ,korea1 the ,philippines1
 and other allies and partners of the   
,united ,states2 and  7ii7 restrict     
,united ,states access to key trade     
routes and markets in the ,indo-,pacific

 region1 thereby imposing economic      
hardship on middle-class and            
working-class ,americans and increasing 
the ability of the ,people's ,republic  
of ,china to intrude into political life
 in the ,united ,states4  7#c7 ,there is
 growing concern that the ,government of
 the ,people's ,republic of ,china may  
conclude that the cross-,strait military
 balance has tilted in its favor and    
launch an invasion of ,taiwan sooner    
than previously anticipated1 including  
as follows3 7,a7 ,former ,assistant to  
the ,president for ,national ,security  
,affairs ,h4,r4 ,mc,master testified in 
,march #bjba that ,taiwan is the most   
significant flashpoint now between the  
,united ,states and the ,people's       
,republic of ,china4  7,b7 ,commander of
 ,united ,states ,indo-,pacific ,command
 ,admiral ,john ,aquilino testified in  
,march #bjba that the threat of an      
invasion by the ,people's ,republic of  
,china of ,taiwan is much closer to us  
than most think and could materialize   

well before #bjce4  7,c7 ,former        
,commander of ,united ,states           
,indo-,pacific ,command ,admiral ,phil  
,davidson testified in ,march #bjba that
 the threat of an invasion by the       
,people's ,republic of ,china of ,taiwan
 is manifest during this decade1 in fact
 in the next six years4  7#d7 ,defense  
policymakers and analysts across        
multiple administrations have found     
that1 if the ,people's ,republic of     
,china does invade ,taiwan1 the invasion
 will likely take the form of a fait    
accompli1 including as follows3 7,a7    
,the ,defense ,science ,board assessed  
in ,june #bjah that the ,people's       
,republic of ,china will attempt to     
achieve a decisive outcome very quickly1
 presenting the ,united ,states and its 
allies with a fait accompli1 in the     
event of conflict4  7,b7 ,the           
,department of ,defense ,indo-,pacific  
,strategy ,report released in ,june     
#bjai found that-- 7i7 if the ,people's 
,republic of ,china or another strategic

 competitor in the ,indo-,pacific region
 decides to advance their interests     
through force1 they are likely to enjoy 
a local military advantage at the onset 
of conflict4 ,in a fait accompli        
scenario1 competitors would seek to     
employ their capabilities quickly to    
achieve limited objectives and forestall
 a response from the ,united ,states1   
and its allies and partners2 and  7ii7  
an attempted fait accompli by the       
,people's ,republic of ,china or another
 strategy competitor would constitute   
one of the most stressing potential     
scenarios facing the ,united ,states    
,armed ,forces4  7,c7 ,the ,tri-,service
 ,maritime ,strategy released by the    
,united ,states ,navy1 ,united ,states  
,marine ,corps1 and ,united ,states     
,coast ,guard in ,december #bjbj stated1
 ,in the event of conflict1 ,china '''  
will likely attempt to seize territory  
before the ,united ,states and its      
allies can mount an effective           
response--leading to a fait accompli44  

7,d7 ,the ,army ,multi-,domain          
,transformation strategic guidance      
released by ,army ,chief of ,staff      
,general ,james ,mc,conville in ,march  
#bjba stated that ,china and other      
adversaries of the ,united ,states will 
seek to seize their objectives quickly  
as a fait accompli1 if the ,joint ,force
 cannot present credible deterrent      
options4  7,e7 ,then-,acting ,secretary 
of ,defense ,patrick ,shanahan testified
 in ,march #bjai that the ,government of
 the ,people's ,republic of ,china is   
developing capabilities that could be   
used to achieve a fait accompli that    
would make reversing ,chinese gains more
 difficult1 militarily and politically4 
7,f7 ,special ,assistant to the         
,secretary of ,defense for ,china ,ely  
,ratner assessed in ,january #bjbj that 
,china has made significant investments 
in long-range ,,isr and strike assets   
and ,china hopes the threat of these    
attacks will deter ,u4,s4 intervention  
by negating a substantial portion of    

,u4,s4 airpower early in a conflict1    
thereby creating time and space for a   
fait accompli4  7,g7 ,former ,under     
,secretary of ,defense for ,policy      
,michle ,flournoy warned in ,june #bjbj 
that the ,government of the ,people's   
,republic of ,china may believe the     
,united ,states lacks the military      
capabilities that might be effective in 
the face of ,a#b_/;,,ad and conclude    
that ,china should move on ,taiwan      
sooner rather than later1 a fait        
accompli that a weakened and distracted 
,united ,states would have to accept4   
7#e7 ,there is broad agreement that the 
,united ,states should maintain the     
ability of the ,united ,states ,armed   
,forces to defeat a fait accompli by the
 ,people's ,republic of ,china1         
including as follows3 7,a7 ,the         
,national ,defense ,strategy ,commission
 assessed in ,november #bjah that       
competing successfully in the           
,indo-,pacific region1 while also       
managing escalation dynamics1 requires  

positioning substantial capability      
forward ''' to deter and prevent a fait 
accompli by an agile1 opportunistic     
adversary4  7,b7 ,then-,acting          
,secretary of ,defense ,patrick         
,shanahan testified in ,march #bjai that
 implementation of the #bjah ,national  
,defense ,strategy was required to      
ensure the ,united ,states had the      
capabilities1 posture1 and employment of
 forces necessary to prevent a fait     
accompli by the ,people's ,republic of  
,china4  7,c7 ,assistant to the         
,president for ,national ,security      
,affairs ,jake ,sullivan and ,deputy    
,assistant to the ,president and        
,coordinator for ,indo-,pacific ,affairs
 on the ,national ,security ,council    
,kurt ,campbell warned in ,september    
#bjai that ,beijing cannot be allowed to
 use the threat of force to pursue a    
fait accompli in territorial disputes4  
7,d7 ,former ,under ,secretary of       
,defense for ,policy ,james ,miller     
wrote in ,october #bjbj that ,u4,s4     

defense planners must maintain a laser  
focus on a scenario for which ,u4,s4    
forces are ill-prepared today1 in which 
,china ''' sees the opportunity for a   
quick invasion of a ,u4,s4 partner or   
ally and attempts to impose a fait      
accompli that would be costly and risky 
to reverse4  7,e7 ,in ,january #bjba1   
,secretary of ,defense ,lloyd ,austin   
upheld the assessment by the            
,indo-,pacific ,strategy ,report that   
,department of ,defense initiatives on  
force employment1 crisis response1 force
 and concept development1 and           
collaboration with allies and partners  
should be aimed to help address this    
critical challenge of a potential fait  
accompli scenario involving the         
,people's ,republic of ,china4  7,f7    
,deputy ,secretary of ,defense ,kathleen
 ,hicks testified in ,february #bjba    
that the ,people's ,republic of ,china  
is less likely to attempt a fait        
accompli against ,taiwan if it knows    
that the ,united ,states will be able to

 defeat such an attempt1 and that the   
,united ,states should therefore        
maintain the ability to defeat a fait   
accompli by the ,people's ,republic of  
,china against ,taiwan4  7,g7 ,under    
,secretary of ,defense for ,policy      
,colin ,kahl1 ,admiral ,aquilino1 and   
,admiral ,davidson testified in ,march  
#bjba that they agreed with the         
testimony by ,deputy ,secretary ,hicks1 
and that the ,united ,states should     
maintain the ability to defeat a fait   
accompli by the ,people's ,republic of  
,china against ,taiwan in order to      
strengthen deterrence against such a    
contingency4  7,h7 ,former ,assistant to
 the ,president and ,deputy ,national   
,security ,advisor ,matt ,pottinger     
testified in ,june #bjba that the       
,department of ,defense must ensure that
 it can deny ,china's ability to        
forcibly subordinate ,taiwan1 including 
through a fait accompli attempt1 and    
that time is running short to do so4    
7,i7 ,secretary ,austin testified in    

,june #bjba that the ,united ,states    
should maintain its ability to defeat a 
,chinese fait accompli against ,taiwan1 
including by maintaining a              
combat-credible forward deterrent       
posture4  7#f7 ,there is likewise broad 
agreement that a strategy of denial is  
essential to deter or defeat a fait     
accompli by the ,people's ,republic of  
,china against ,taiwan1 including as    
follows3 7,a7 ,the #bjah ,national      
,defense ,strategy tasked the           
,department of ,defense with posturing  
and employing forces to delay1 degrade1 
or deny adversary aggression4  7,b7     
,secretary ,austin argued in ,january   
#bjba that a combat-credible1 forward   
deterrent posture is instrumental to the
 ,united ,states military's ability to  
deter1 and if necessary1 deny a fait    
accompli scenario4  7,c7 ,deputy        
,secretary ,hicks1 ,under ,secretary    
,kahl1 ,admiral ,aquilino1 and ,admiral 
,davidson reaffirmed the emphasis by    
,secretary ,austin on denial and        

testified that a strategy of denial is  
essential for deterring ,chinese        
aggression4  7,d7 ,the ,joint ,operating
 ,concept for ,deterrence ,operations   
released in ,december #bjag states that 
forward-deployed forces contribute to   
denying benefits and thereby reduce the 
likelihood of an adversary achieving    
strategic or tactical surprise1 thus    
helping to prevent adversary decision   
makers from concluding they might       
achieve a military fait accompli that   
could be extremely costly for the ,,us  
to reverse by force4  7,e7 ,the ,united 
,states ,army's ,multi-,domain          
,operations concept document released in
 ,december #bjah states that ,army      
forces must demonstrate the capability  
to immediately deny a fait accompli in  
order to deter a near-peer adversary4   
7,f7 ,the ,marine ,corps ,force ,design 
#bjcj report released in ,march #bjbj   
states that forward-deployed forces     
possess the capability to attrite       
adversary forces1 enable joint force    

access requirements1 complicate         
targeting and consume adversary ,,isr   
resources1 and prevent fait accompli    
scenarios4  7,g7 ,the ,tri-,service     
,maritime ,strategy directs the ,united 
,states ,navy1 ,united ,states ,marine  
,corps1 and ,united ,states ,coast      
,guard to deny adversaries their        
objectives1 defeat adversary forces     
while managing escalation1 and set the  
conditions for favorable conflict       
termination4  7#g7 ,under the ,taiwan   
,relations ,act 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #ccja et 
seq471 it is the policy of the ,united  
,states to consider any effort to       
determine the future of ,taiwan by other
 than peaceful means to be of grave     
concern to the ,united ,states1 and--   
7,a7 the ,taiwan ,relations ,act further
 establishes it as the policy of the    
,united ,states to maintain the capacity
 of the ,united ,states to resist any   
resort to force or other forms of       
coercion that would jeopardize the      
security1 or the social or economic     

system1 of the people on ,taiwan2  7,b7 
implementation of the ,taiwan ,relations
 ,act therefore requires the ,united    
,states to maintain the ability of the  
,united ,states ,armed ,forces to defeat
 a fait accompli by the ,people's       
,republic of ,china against ,taiwan2    
7,c7 since #aigi1 the ,united ,states   
,government has consistently upheld the 
commitments of the ,united ,states under
 the ,taiwan ,relations ,act2  7,d7     
section #abfj of the ,william ,m4 7,mac7
 ,thornberry ,national ,defense         
,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year   
#bjba 7,public ,law #aaf-bhc7 reaffirms 
that the ,taiwan ,relations ,act and the
 ,six ,assurances are the cornerstones  
of ,united ,states relations with       
,taiwan2  7,e7 the ,department of ,state
 reaffirmed in ,january #bjba that the  
,united ,states maintains its           
longstanding commitments as outlined in 
the ,three ,communiques1 the ,taiwan    
,relations ,act1 and the ,six           
,assurances1 and that the commitment of 

the ,united ,states to ,taiwan is       
rock-solid2  7,f7 a failure by the      
,united ,states to continue to uphold   
all of its obligations under the ,taiwan
 ,relations ,act1 including by clearly  
maintaining the ability of the ,united  
,states ,armed ,forces to defeat a fait 
accompli by the ,people's ,republic of  
,china against ,taiwan1 could draw into 
question the willingness and ability of 
the ,united ,states to uphold analogous 
commitments elsewhere in the            
,indo-,pacific region2 and  7,g7 any    
such loss of credibility could          
jeopardize the ability of the ,united   
,states to forge and sustain the        
coalition of nations required to        
maintain a favorable balance of power   
against the ,people's ,republic of      
,china1 thereby denying the hegemonic   
ambitions of the ,people's ,republic of 
,china4  #d4 ,sense of ,congress ,it is 
the sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7 the  
ability of the ,united ,states to       
maintain a free and open ,indo-,pacific 

region would be significantly           
compromised if the ,people's ,republic  
of ,china were able to invade and seize 
control of ,taiwan1 with severe         
implications for the lives1 livelihoods1
 and freedoms of working ,americans and 
the allies and partners of the ,united  
,states in the ,indo-,pacific region2   
7#b7 the most effective way for the     
,people's ,republic of ,china to seize  
control of ,taiwan is by way of         
invasion1 and an invasion of ,taiwan by 
the ,people's ,republic of ,china is    
likely to take the form of a fait       
accompli2  7#c7 implementation of the   
,taiwan ,relations ,act requires the    
,united ,states to maintain the ability 
of the ,united ,states ,armed ,forces to
 defeat a fait accompli by the ,people's
 ,republic of ,china against ,taiwan1   
and officials across multiple           
administrations have affirmed that--    
7,a7 the ,united ,states should maintain
 the ability of the ,united ,states     
,armed ,forces to defeat a fait accompli

 by the ,people's ,republic of ,china   
against ,taiwan1 and  7,b7 a strategy of
 denial is the most effective option for
 deterring or defeating a fait accompli 
by the ,people's ,republic of ,china    
against ,taiwan2  7#d7 the ,department  
of ,defense has nonetheless struggled to
 consistently focus sufficient attention
 and resources on maintaining the       
ability to deny a fait accompli by the  
,people's ,republic of ,china against   
,taiwan1 and as a result-- 7,a7 the     
,government of the ,people's ,republic  
of ,china may believe that it can launch
 a successful fait accompli against     
,taiwan as soon as #bjbg2 and  7,b7 the 
governments of allies and partners of   
the ,united ,states in the              
,indo-,pacific region may question the  
will or ability of the ,united ,states  
to lead efforts to prevent the ,people's
 ,republic of ,china from dominating the
 ,indo-,pacific region2 and  7#e7 it    
should therefore be the policy of the   
,united ,states to maintain the ability 

of the ,united ,states ,armed ,forces to
 deny a fait accompli by the ,people's  
,republic of ,china against ,taiwan in  
order to-- 7,a7 ensure the ,department  
of ,defense adequately prioritizes      
maintaining the ability to deny a fait  
accompli by the ,people's ,republic of  
,china against ,taiwan as it develops   
strategies and plans and designs1       
postures1 and employs the ,united       
,states ,armed ,forces2 and  7,b7 by    
doing so1 clarify for the ,government of
 the ,people's ,republic of ,china and  
other governments in the ,indo-,pacific 
region that the ,united ,states         
maintains and will continue to maintain 
the ability of the ,united ,states      
,armed ,forces to deny a fait accompli  
by the ,people's ,republic of ,china    
against ,taiwan1 as required by the     
,taiwan ,relations ,act and in order to 
strengthen deterrence in the            
,indo-,pacific region4  #e4 ,statement  
of policy ,it shall be the policy of the
 ,united ,states to maintain the ability

 of the ,united ,states ,armed ,forces  
to deny a fait accompli by the ,people's
 ,republic of ,china against ,taiwan4