U.S. senators propose aid package to support arms purchases by Taiwan

Several members of the United States Senate on Thursday introduced a bill that seeks to increase military aid to Taiwan to bolster the country’s defenses against Chinese aggression and coercion.

The Taiwan Deterrence Act, proposed by Republican Senators Jim Risch, Mike Crapo, Bill Hagerty, Mitt Romney, John Cornyn and Marco Rubio, seeks to authorize US$2 billion a year from the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program for Taiwan from 2023 to 2032, according to a news release issued by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

The FMF, a foreign policy tool for promoting U.S. interests around the world, provides grants and loans to help countries purchase weapons and defense equipment produced in the U.S.

The bill would also amend the Arms Export Control Act to enable the U.S. to sell weapons to Taiwan more easily.

“The defense of Taiwan is critical to the future peace and security of the entire Indo-Pacific region,” said Risch, who is a ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and lead sponsor of the bill.

Risch, however, said the proposed funding is not a blank check but is contingent on Taiwan’s commitment to further advance initiatives championed by President Tsai Ing-wen (???) to build a credible defense.

The funding would come with certain conditions, including Taiwan committing to match U.S. spending, and both sides agreeing “to conduct joint long-range planning for capability development,” according to the bill.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a short statement thanking the senators for introducing the bill, adding that it will continue to follow closely the progress of the Taiwan Deterrence Act.

The ministry also said “it will maintain close contact with friends in the U.S. Congress to pragmatically and steadily deepen Taiwan-U.S. security cooperation.”

During Tsai’s first term in office, which coincided with President Donald Trump’s four years in office, Taiwan spent US$16.8 billion to buy U.S. weapons, nearly as much as the US$20 billion it spent during the eight years of President Barack Obama’s presidency.

In 2019 and 2020, the amount of money Taiwan spent annually on purchasing U.S. weapons was three times as much the average spent each year during the Obama years.

It was unclear whether Taiwan initiated a request for funding assistance or whether the senators are hoping this offer would spur Taipei to spend more on defense and buy more U.S. weapons.

In the news release, Crapo was quoted as saying China’s increasing efforts to militarily overwhelm Taiwan is a threat to international diplomacy and regional security.

“Taiwan is an important friend of the United States, and it plays a significant role in promoting democracy and countering China’s aggression in the Indo-Pacific,” Romney said.

According to the Republican senator, the Taiwan Deterrence Act would ensure that the “U.S. continues to support Taiwan in its effort to counter Chinese aggression and coercion by bolstering our support of Taiwan’s defense capabilities.”

The bill also aims to increase exchanges between senior defense officials and general officers of the U.S. and Taiwan, consistent with the Taiwan Travel Act, an earlier piece of legislation that was passed to boost high-level visits between the two sides.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel