Senior U.S. Democrat says midterm win would give party stronger voice in shaping Asia policy

A senior U.S. Democratic lawmaker said a victory by his party in midterm elections next week could give Congress a stronger voice in shaping Washington’s policy toward Japan and Taiwan amid uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s approach to the region.

Rep. Ami Bera, a ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific, said he expected to chair the panel if his party regained the chamber and hoped to advance legislation reinforcing the U.S.-Japan alliance and support for Taiwan.

“I think you’ll see fairly quickly a Democratic Congress, in very strong terms, expressing our support for the status quo in Taiwan, the status quo in East Asia,” he told The Japan Times during a recent interview in Tokyo.

With the Nov. 3 elections approaching, the veteran lawmaker predicted Democrats would regain the House and possibly the Senate. 

A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted this month put Democrats ahead of Republicans by 47% to 35% among registered voters, though a national survey does not offer a clear picture of district-by-district and state-by-state sentiment. 

Bera said Republicans privately shared Democrats’ endorsement for long-standing regional commitments but were sometimes reluctant to contradict Trump. He hoped a more united Congress would push the administration to focus more closely on East Asia.

Citing threats from China, Russia and North Korea, Bera said Washington should back Japan’s defense buildup, including through cooperation between defense companies and in shipbuilding.

“The Japanese historically have been very good shipbuilders. I think we should look for that partnership,” he said.

Beyond bilateral defense production, he urged the two allies and other like-minded partners such as Australia to work together against what he described as increasingly aggressive Chinese maritime activities.

He also called for assisting Pacific island countries to monitor surrounding waters and improve broader maritime security to preserve freedom of navigation and prevent any conflict. 

Chinese coast guard vessels were spotted in the contiguous zone around the Japan-administered Senkaku Islands — which are also claimed by Beijing — a record 357 days last year, according to the Japan Coast Guard. 

Japan’s latest defense white paper released in August identifies China’s military activities and external posture as its “greatest strategic challenge,” pointing to operations around the disputed islands and across the western Pacific. 

On Taiwan, Bera, who also co-chairs the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, said lawmakers from both parties had pushed the administration to honor arms sales agreements and deliver weapons promptly.

“It’s never been the policy of the United States to use Taiwan in negotiations,” he said, referring to the Trump administration’s decision to hold back an arms package for the self-governing island.

Trump has yet to approve the second package, worth about $14 billion, having described it in May as a “very good negotiating chip” following talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. 

Beijing claims Taiwan as its own territory and opposes U.S. arms sales to the island. Washington is bound by law to provide Taipei with means to defend itself.

Since June, China has also expanded patrols off Taiwan’s east coast, maneuvers Taiwanese officials believe are rehearsals for a possible maritime blockade. 

While Secretary of State Marco Rubio had assured him that Washington’s Taiwan policy remained fundamentally unchanged, the senior American lawmaker called Trump’s tendency to speak off the cuff “a dangerous thing.”

Asked whether warmer ties between Trump and Xi could leave Japan sidelined in regional security discussions, he said that would be a bad idea, emphasizing Japan as Washington’s closest regional ally. 

Bera also defended Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks last November that Chinese naval action near Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation,” a legal designation that permits Japan to exercise limited collective self-defense. 

“I think Beijing’s overreaction to what were innocuous comments is unacceptable,” he said.