Washington: A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers has introduced a bill aimed at strengthening defense technology collaboration with Taiwan in response to rising military threats from China. The bill, titled the “U.S.-Taiwan Defense Innovation Partnership Act,” seeks to establish a partnership between the U.S. Department of Defense and its Taiwanese counterpart, and to accelerate defense technology collaboration, according to a press release issued on Thursday.

According to Focus Taiwan, the bill prioritizes the joint research and development of emerging defense technologies — including drones, artificial intelligence, microchips, missiles, and surveillance systems — in an effort to enhance deterrence and maintain a technological edge over China. The proposed legislation was introduced amid heightened concerns in Washington over China’s military buildup and growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.

House of Representatives member Jill Tokuda (D-HI), a co-sponsor of the bill, emphasized the need for “new and innovative technologies, approaches and vendors” to meet security challenges in the region, calling the bill a step toward “a free and open Indo-Pacific.” The partnership laid out in the bill “will be a critical deterrence tool, accelerating Taiwan’s access to next-generation U.S. technology,” said another co-sponsor of the bill, Representative Zach Nunn (R-IA).

Meanwhile, Representatives John Moolenaar (R-MI), who also chairs the House Select Committee on China, said the bill would “strengthen critical defense industrial collaboration with Taiwan while enhancing our shared readiness against an increasingly threatening Beijing.”