Six Assurances
The Six Assurances are six key foreign policy principles of the United States regarding United States–Taiwan relations. They were passed as unilateral U.S. clarifications to the Third Communiqué between the United States and the People's Republic of China in 1982. They were intended to reassure both Taiwan and the United States Congress that the US would continue to support Taiwan even if it had earlier cut formal diplomatic relations.
The assurances were originally proposed by the then Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party) government of the Republic of China on Taiwan during negotiations between the U.S. and the People's Republic of China.[citation needed] The U.S. Reagan administration agreed to the assurances and informed the United States Congress of them in July 1982.
Today, the Six Assurances are part of semiformal guidelines used in conducting relations between the US and Taiwan. The assurances have been generally reaffirmed by successive U.S. administrations. Prior to 2016, they were purely informal, but in 2016, their formal content was adopted by the US House of Representatives and the Senate in non-binding resolutions, upgrading their status to formal but not directly enforceable.
Legislative history
[edit]The United States House of Representatives passed a concurrent resolution on May 16, 2016, giving the first formal wording for the Six Assurances by more or less directly adopting how the former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs John H. Holdridge expressed them in 1982 (which was delivered to Taiwan's President Chiang Ching-kuo by then-Director of the American Institute in Taiwan James R. Lilley):[1]
A similar resolution passed the Senate on July 6, 2016.[2]
Reaffirmation
[edit]The State Department has reaffirmed the Six Assurances repeatedly.[3]
On May 19, 2016, one day before Tsai Ing-wen assumed the Presidency of the Republic of China, U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and Bob Menendez (D-NJ), former chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and co-chair of the Senate Taiwan Caucus, introduced a concurrent resolution reaffirming the Taiwan Relations Act and the “Six Assurances” as cornerstones of United States–Taiwan relations.[4][5][6]
The 2016 Republican Party platform affirmed the Six Assurances to Taiwan, supported the Taiwan Relations Act, opposed unilateral changes to the status quo, and endorsed peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues.[7]
The Asia Reassurance Initiative Act (Pub. L. 115–409 (text) (PDF)) states that it is the policy of the U.S. to enforce commitments to Taiwan consistent with the Six Assurances.[8] As of September 2018, the Donald Trump administration "has stated that the U.S.-Taiwan relationship is also 'guided' by [the] 'Six Assurances'".[9]
In November 2020 U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated “Taiwan has not been a part of China, and that was recognized with the work that the Reagan administration did to lay out the policies that the United States has adhered to now for three and a half decades, and done so under both administrations.” which was seen as invoking clause 5.[10]
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 reconfirmed the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) and the Six Assurances as the foundation for US-Taiwan relations.[11]
On August 2, 2022, Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, in a statement from a visit to Taiwan, made reference to the United States' continuing support of the TRA, Three Communiqués, and the Six Assurances.[12]
The Six Assurances to Taiwan Act, introduced in the US House in May 2025, will, if passed, codify the Six Assurances into law.[13]
See also
[edit]- Political status of Taiwan
- Taiwan Relations Act
- Taiwan Travel Act, passed in 2018; further strengthening ties between the United States and Taiwan
- Taiwan–United States relations
References
[edit]- ^ "H.Con.Res.88 - Reaffirming the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances as cornerstones of United States-Taiwan relations". congress.gov. May 16, 2016. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
- ^ "S.Con.Res.38 - A concurrent resolution reaffirming the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances as cornerstones of United States-Taiwan relations". congress.gov. May 16, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
- ^ U.S.-Taiwan Relations, U.S. Department of State, February 14, 2003
- ^ Menendez, Rubio: "Six Assurances" Continued Foundation of U.S.-Taiwan Relations, Senator Bob Menendez, May 19, 2016
- ^ Rubio, Menendez: ‘Six Assurances’ Continued Foundation Of U.S.-Taiwan Relations, Senator Marco Rubio, May 19, 2016
- ^ S.Con.Res.38 - A concurrent resolution reaffirming the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances as cornerstones of United States-Taiwan relations., Congress.gov, May 19, 2016
- ^ "The 2016 Republican Party Platform" (PDF). Republican National Committee. 18 July 2016. p. 48. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
- ^ "Foreign Ministry thanks US for signing Asia Reassurance Initiative Act into law". Taiwan Today. 2 January 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
- ^ Taiwan: Select Political and Security Issues, Congressional Research Service, September 17, 2018
- ^ van der Wees, Gerrit. "Has Taiwan Always Been Part of China?". thediplomat.com. The Diplomat. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
- ^ Chin-yeh, Chiang; Huang, Frances (4 December 2020). "U.S. Congress proposes medical partnership with Taiwan". focustaiwan.tw. Focus Taiwan. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
- ^ Pelosi, Nancy (2 August 2022). "Pelosi, Congressional Delegation Statement on Visit to Taiwan". speaker.gov. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
- ^ "H.R.3452 - Six Assurances to Taiwan Act". congress.gov. 15 May 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
