台湾: 美参议院军事委员会

choi

Eli Stokols, 美参议院军事委员会通过对台新政 允许军舰常规停靠台湾港口. 华尔街日报中文版, June 29, 2017
http://cn.wsj.com/gb/20170629/bgh110636.asp

, which is translated from

Eli Stokols, Senate Panel Votes to Allow Navy to Call at Taiwanese Ports. WSJ.com, June 28, 2017 (online publication at 9:09 p.m. ET).
https://www.wsj.com/articles/sen ... se-ports-1498698547

My comment:
(a) Except the first 1  ½ paragraphs, the English-language report is locked behind paywall.
(b) I have read today's WSJ, and the above report is not in the US edition. Easi Asian edition, maybe?

(c) The Website of US Senate Committee on Armed Service
https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings
shows in chronological order:
(i) "CLOSED: SCHEDULE FOR ARMED SERVICES SUBCOMMITTEE MARKUPS OF THE NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018   06/26/17 03:00PM" and
(ii) "CLOSED: SCHEDULE FOR ARMED SERVICES FULL COMMITTEE MARKUP OF THE NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018               
06/27/17   08:15AM"
(A) Because the vote of 21 to 6 reflects size of the full committee, the report is filed after full committee hearing, not subcommittee hearing.
(B) In this (115th) Congress, there are 14 Republicans and 13 Democrats in the
United States Senate Committee on Armed Services.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Un ... e_on_Armed_Services
(C) Perhaps because the hearings are closed to the public, only WSJ reports on this. When the cn.wsj.com reported in Chinese, 上報 in Taiwan quickly summarized the WSJ report; that was 18 hours ago. Half an hour ago, VOA Chinese also reported it, with updates. (It is 5 pm EDT, June 29.) Both 上報 and VOA cited WSJ (without saying specifically English or Chinese version).

(d) Eli Stokols is White House correspondent of WSJ.

choi

(e) 钟辰芳, 美参院军事委员会通过法案允美军舰停靠高雄港. VOA Chinese, June 29, 2017
https://www.voachinese.com/a/taiwan-defense-20170629/3921829.html
(National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2018)
(i) This report in VOA Chinese says, "现在国防授权法已经有要求国防部，将台湾纳入红旗(Red Flag)军事演习."
(ii) The VOA report correctly states the committee "表达国会意见."  Under US constitution, the president is commander-in-chief. Congress can only provide non-binding advisory or opinion on the military, or foreign policy.
(iii) For the past decade, US House has been friendly to Taiwan, whose bills fail to pass in Senate or dies in joint conference (between the two chambers).  Now that it is now Senate committee, I expect the full senate, and then House, will follow.

Exercise Red Flag
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercise_Red_Flag
, whose section 3 Participating countries somehow indicates "Taiwan (citation needed)" is one.
(A) Exercise Red Flag is held in four times a year in Nellis Air Force Base (near Las Vegas), whose home page is
www.nellis.af.mil/Home/Flying-Operations
("is one of the largest fighter bases in the world. * * * Red Flag is the US Air Force's premier air-to-air combat training exercise. Participants often include both United States and allied nations' combat air forces")
(B) Red Flag-Alaska is held three times a year "for US forces" only.
www.eielson.af.mil/Info/RED-FLAG-Alaska/

(f)
(i) Tom Cotton
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Cotton
(R-Arkansas; now 40, elected to US senate in 2014 general election at age 37)
(ii) The English surname Cotton has nothing to do with the plant, but from same name of many places: "from Old English cotum (dative plural of cot) 'at the cottages or huts' "
(iii) In his official senate website
https://www.cotton.senate.gov/
is a panel superimposed with "Cotton Statement on NDAA Provisions to Strengthen Ties with Taiwan."