The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which authorizes up to US$12 billion in grants and loans to Taiwan to buy US weapons over the next five years.
The bill passed the Democratic Party-controlled House on a 350 to 80 vote. It is expected to clear the Senate next week before being sent to the White House for US President Joe Biden to sign into law.
The act would authorize up to US$2 billion in annual grants from next year to 2027, and an additional US$2 billion in loans for Taiwan to use to bolster its military capabilities with weapons from the US.
Photo: Tyrone Siu, Reuters
It also authorizes a regional contingency stockpile for Taiwan that consists of munitions and other appropriate defense articles costing up to US$100 million a year for use in the event of a conflict.
The bill gives Taiwan the same treatment as major non-NATO allies — most of which are in South America and the western Pacific — in priority to obtain “excess defense articles” from the US.
The act also recommends that the US administration invite Taiwan to attend the US-organized Rim of the Pacific Exercise, a regional military drill, in 2024.
The bill states that the US secretary of state and secretary of defense must prioritize and expedite requests from Taiwan under the Foreign Military Sales program without delaying the processing for bundling purposes.
The bill was proposed following China’s increased military actions in and near the Taiwan Strait in recent years, and amid growing concerns in Taipei and Washington that China’s military buildup has far exceeded that of Taiwan.
However, the percentage of Taiwan’s GDP spent on weapons purchases has not grown measurably since the election of the current Taiwanese administration, despite increased threats from China.
While purchasing US-made weapons each year, Taipei is also increasing its manufacture of locally made weaponry.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday inaugurated the Danjiang Bridge across the Tamsui River in New Taipei City, saying that the structure would be an architectural icon and traffic artery for Taiwan. Feted as a major engineering achievement, the Danjiang Bridge is 920m long, 211m tall at the top of its pylon, and is the longest single-pylon asymmetric cable-stayed bridge in the world, the government’s Web site for the structure said. It was designed by late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. The structure, with a maximum deck of 70m, accommodates road and light rail traffic, and affords a 200m navigation channel for boats,
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