US lawmakers included a statement of support for the defense of Taiwan in efforts to push back against China in a massive annual defense bill released on Tuesday that included a proposal for US$300 million to help Ukraine’s military.
The fiscal 2022 US National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) authorizes US$770 billion in military spending, US$25 billion more than requested by US President Joe Biden and about 5 percent more than last year’s budget.
The bill — the result of intense negotiations in the US House of Representatives and the US Senate — includes a 2.7 percent pay increase for troops, and more aircraft and navy ship purchases, in addition to strategies for dealing with geopolitical threats.
Photo: Reuters
On China, the bill includes US$7.1 billion for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative and a statement of congressional support for the defense of Taiwan, as well as a ban on the US Department of Defense procuring products produced with forced labor from China’s Xinjiang region.
The US has labeled China’s treatment of its Uighur Muslim minority in Xinjiang as genocide and lawmakers have been pushing a ban on imports of products made with forced labor from Uighurs.
China dismisses the genocide charge as a slanderous assertion about conditions in Xinjiang.
The compromise NDAA omits a proposal to require women to register for the military draft that was included in earlier versions.
It includes an overhaul of the military justice system to take decisions on whether to prosecute cases of rape, sexual assault and some other major crimes out of the hands of military commanders.
The NDAA normally passes with strong bipartisan support, and the House of Representatives backed the compromise measure by 363-70 later on Tuesday.
The bill is closely watched by a broad swath of industry and other interests because of its wide scope and because it is one of the only major pieces of legislation that becomes law every year.
This year’s bill was released shortly after US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin held two hours of virtual talks on Ukraine and other disputes.
It includes US$300 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which provides support to Ukraine’s armed forces, US$4 billion for the European Defense Initiative and US$150 million for Baltic security cooperation.
It does not include a provision that would force Biden to impose sanctions over the US$11 billion Nord Stream 2 pipeline to take Russian gas directly to Germany.
The measure’s supporters argue that the pipeline would be harmful to European allies.
Lawmakers also omitted an amendment that would have banned Americans from purchasing Russian sovereign debt.
Now that it has passed the House, the NDAA must win Senate backing and be signed by Biden to become law.
The Italian Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday passed a motion urging the Italian government to be more involved in the Indo-Pacific region and to place importance on the situation across the Taiwan Strait. The motion — introduced by Paolo Formentini, the chamber’s Permanent Commission of Foreign Affairs deputy chairman — passed the lower house largely unopposed, garnering 387 votes in support, 19 votes against and 11 abstentions. Citing the possibility that China could launch a war against Taiwan amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the motion called on Rome to work with partners in the EU and NATO to elaborate an Indo-Pacific
NO TIMETABLE: The CECC’s plan is to gradually reduce the quarantine period from 10 days to seven days, then five days, then three days, before a full reopening The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) might shorten the quarantine period for inbound travelers to seven days after observing the COVID-19 situation for about a month, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said yesterday. Chen, speaking at the Taipei Hotel Association’s annual banquet, said that while people in the tourism industry have suggested a “3-5-7” plan — reopening the border to business travelers this month, reopening to foreign tourists in May and allowing Taiwanese to travel abroad in July — the virus situation is uncontrollable, so the dates are difficult to set in advance. However, the minister said there is
China has already decided to provide Russia with economic and financial support during its war with Ukraine, and is contemplating sending military supplies such as armed drones, US officials said on Monday. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan laid out Washington’s case against Russia’s invasion in an “intense” seven-hour meeting in Rome with Chinese Central Foreign Affairs Commission Director Yang Jiechi (楊潔篪), pointing out that Moscow had feigned interest in diplomacy while preparing for invasion, and also that the Russian military was clearly showing signs of frailty. The US delegation in Rome had not expected the Chinese diplomats to negotiate, seeing them
XI THREAT? Documents said China was considering taking over Taiwan this year, as the Chinese president needs a ‘little victory to get re-elected for a third term’ Taiwan must be prepared to defend itself, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday after documents reportedly showed that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had considered invading the nation in the fall. In a post on Facebook dated Thursday last week, exiled Russian dissident Vladimir Osechkin, who founded the France-based human rights group Gulagu Net, referenced the documents, which are purportedly leaked Russian intelligence. “Xi Jinping was at least considering taking over Taiwan in the fall — he needs his own little victory to get re-elected for a third term — there the struggle within the elite is colossal,” Osechkin
RSS