The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked the US Senate for passing the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2020, which requires the Pentagon to report Chinese interference in Taiwan’s elections and create plans to boost Taiwan-US cybersecurity cooperation.
After the Democrat-controlled US House of Representatives approved the bill 377-48 on Wednesday last week, the Republican-led Senate on Tuesday passed it 86-8.
The legislation has been forwarded to the White House, with US President Donald Trump expected to sign it into law.
Photo: Tyrone Siu, Reuters
Article 5513 of the act requires the US director of national intelligence to deliver a report on Beijing’s interference or disruption campaigns targeting Taiwan’s elections and US responses to such campaigns within 45 days of an election in Taiwan.
The act also requires the US secretary of defense to submit a report on establishing a high-level and interagency US-Taiwan group to tackle new cybersecurity issues within 180 days of the act taking effect.
The Pentagon and the US Department of State would also be required to present a report within 180 days of the act’s implementation on the US’ Taiwan Relations Act; whether the Chinese government threatens Taiwan’s security, social order and economy; whether Beijing is changing the cross-strait military balance; and Taiwan’s expectation to determine its future via peaceful means.
Taiwan-US cooperation on cybersecurity is listed for the first time in the act, which also supports Taiwan’s resolve to bolster its self-defense capabilities and an increase in bilateral military exchanges, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said in a statement yesterday.
The ministry thanked the US for again demonstrating its firm support for Taiwan-US military cooperation, and for its concern about Taiwan’s democracy and freedom, she said.
The legislation provides a total of US$738 billion in base discretionary funding, as well as US$5.3 billion in emergency disaster relief funding, US Senator James Inhofe, chairman of the US Senate Committee on Armed Services, said in a news release on Tuesday.
It includes landmark reforms for privatized military housing, establishes a US Space Force and ensures that US troops receive their largest pay raise (3.1 percent) in a decade, he said.
“It also sends a strong message to our allies and our adversaries, especially Russia and China. America is the leader of the free world, in large part because we are able to defend our values. This NDAA makes sure we keep it that way,” Inhofe said on Facebook.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source