![handle is hein.crs/govesod0001 and id is 1 raw text is:
es Congressional Research Service
so RaInforming the IegRsItive debate since 1914
President Reagan's Six Assurances to Taiwan
Introduct on
Under the U.S. one-China policy, the U.S. government
has, since 1979, maintained official relations with the
People's Republic of China (PRC, or China) and unofficial
relations with self-governed Taiwan, over which the PRC
claims sovereignty. The second Trump Administration, like
its immediate predecessors, states that the U.S. one-China
policy is guided by three sets of documents: the Taiwan
Relations Act (TRA, P.L. 96-8; 22 U.S.C. §§3301 et seq.);
three U.S.-PRC Joint Communiqu6s concluded in 1972,
1978, and 1982; and Six Assurances communicated to
Taiwan's government in 1982. This report seeks to inform
Congress about the Six Assurances.
HiStoriCA Context
In the 1978 Joint Communique, the United States and the
PRC announced that they had agreed to establish diplomatic
relations on January 1, 1979. In an accompanying
statement, the U.S. government said it would terminate
diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (ROC) on
Taiwan on the same date. With some Members portraying
the moves as a betrayal of Taiwan, Congress passed the
TRA, enacted on April 10, 1979. Among the TRA's
provisions is that the United States will make available to
Taiwan such defense articles and defense services as
necessary for Taiwan's self-defense. In 1982, continued
U.S. arms sales to Taiwan pursuant to the TRA were a
major irritant in the U.S.-PRC relationship. The Ronald
Reagan Administration sought to address the issue through
negotiation of a third U.S.-PRC joint communiqu6.
In that communique, known as the August 17th
Communiqu6 for the day in 1982 on which it was released,
the PRC government affirmed a fundamental policy of
striving for a peaceful reunification with Taiwan. With
such PRC statements in mind, the United States stated
that it does not seek to carry out a long-term policy of
arms sales to Taiwan, that its arms sales to Taiwan will not
exceed, either in qualitative or in quantitative terms, the
level of those supplied [since 1979], and that it intends
gradually to reduce its sale of arms to Taiwan, leading over
a period of time, to a final resolution.
Aware of mounting concern in Taiwan over the third
communiqu6 negotiations, on July 10, 1982, then-Under
Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger sent a cable to
James Lilley, director of the unofficial U.S. representative
office in Taiwan, the American Institute in Taiwan,
instructing him to seek a meeting with Taiwan President
Chiang Ching-kuo. The talking points Eagleburger sent
Lilley for the meeting, authorized by President Reagan,
included a set of statements detailing what the U.S.
government had not agreed to in its negotiations. Those
Updated February 18, 2025
statements, delivered to President Chiang on July 14, 1982,
are now known as the U.S. Six Assurances to Taiwan.
Table I. The Language of the Six Assurances
CRS has bolded the verb tenses
Eagleburger Shultz cable: Holdridge
cable: for for Taiwan to testimony before
Taiwan Pres. make public Senate
Chiang (71I0/82) (81I71I982) (81I71I982)
We have not
agreed to set a
date certain for
ending arms sales
to Taiwan.
We have not
agreed to prior
consultation on
arms sales.
We have not
agreed to any
mediation role for
the U.S.
We have not
agreed to revise
the Taiwan
Relations Act.
We have not
agreed to take any
position regarding
sovereignty over
Taiwan.
The PRC has at
no time urged us
to put pressure on
Taiwan to
negotiate with the
PRC; however, we
can assure you
that we will
never do so.
The U.S. has
not agreed to
set a date for
ending arms
sales to
Taiwan.
The U.S. has
not agreed to
consult with the
PRC on arms
sales to
Taiwan.
The U.S. will
not play any
mediation role
between Taipei
and Beijing.
The U.S. has
not agreed to
revise the
Taiwan
Relations Act.
The U.S. has
not altered its
position
regarding
sovereignty
over Taiwan.
The U.S. will
not exert
pressure on
Taiwan to enter
into
negotiations
with the PRC.
[W]e did not
agree to set a date
certain for ending
arms sales to
Taiwan.
[The 1982 joint
Communique]
should not be read
to imply that we
have agreed to
engage in prior
consultations with
Beijing on arms sales
to Taiwan.
[W]e see no
mediation role for
the United States.
We have no plans
to seek any such
revisions [to the
TRA].
[T]here has been
no change in our
longstanding
position on the issue
of sovereignty over
Taiwan.
[N]or will we
attempt to exert
pressure on Taiwan
to enter into
negotiations with
the PRC.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/govesod0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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