The US Senate on Thursday passed the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which is to set up a fellowship for US federal employees to work in Taiwanese government agencies, in addition to greenlighting US$2 billion in annual military grants to Taiwan.
The bill has already been approved by the US House of Representatives and awaits the signature of US President Joe Biden to become law.
The Taiwan Fellowship Act, which was included under the NDAA, provides support for US federal government employees to live in Taiwan for a two-year fellowship.
Photo: Reuters
The first year is to be spent studying Mandarin and related topics, followed by a year working in a government agency, legislative office or approved organization related to their field of expertise, the Taiwan Fellowship Act says.
At least 10 fellows from the three branches of the US government — executive, legislative and judicial — are to be selected annually. In the first two years of the program, no fewer than five fellows are to be selected, the bill says.
Returnees would be required to continue serving in the US government for at least four years after completing the program, with the goal of enhancing understanding of Taiwan’s central government and regional issues, it says.
The American Institute in Taiwan would be required to begin negotiations with Taiwanese agencies within 30 days of the bill’s enactment.
US Senator Ed Markey, a sponsor of the bill, in a statement last week touted its contribution to “creating a stronger, more resilient US-Taiwan partnership.”
“The people-to-people ties between the United States and Taiwan have served as the foundation of the strong and lasting partnership with the island and its democracy,” he said.
“The Taiwan Fellowship Act will deepen these ties by supporting American public servants as they benefit from the wealth of knowledge, culture and trade that Taiwan contributes to the global community,” Markey added.
The legislation is modeled after the Mansfield Fellowship Program between the US and Japan.
Under that program, established in 1994, US government employees are provided more than one year of Japanese-language education and placed in a Japanese agency, where they work full-time for 10 months alongside Japanese colleagues.
Other Taiwan-related provisions in the NDAA cover military affairs.
In addition to US$10 billion (up to US$2 billion per year from next year through 2027)grants to purchase US weapons through the Foreign Military Financing Program, it also authorizes annual loans to Taiwan of up to US$2 billion from next year to 2027 to acquire hardware under the same scheme.
However, grants and loans would still need to be proposed through appropriation bills and approved by the US Congress before Taiwan can receive them.
The Senate also approved the inclusion of a nonbinding “sense of Congress” provision stating that Taiwan’s naval forces should participate in the Rim of the Pacific Exercise in 2024.
Outside of financing, the NDAA greenlights the requisition of defense articles or services from US Department of Defense stockpiles by Taiwan worth about US$1 billion annually.
The NDAA also authorizes establishing a regional contingency stockpile for Taiwan using excess defense articles, giving Taiwan a status equal to those of NATO allies, major non-NATO allies and the Philippines.
It mandates that the US departments of state and defense prioritize and expedite the processing of requests from Taiwan under the Foreign Military Sales program and cannot delay the processing of requests for bundling purposes.
The departments are also required to “establish or expand a comprehensive training program with Taiwan designed to enhance interoperability and capabilities for joint operations between the US and Taiwan and to improve Taiwan’s defense capabilities.”
It also contains a section stating that no later than 180 days after enactment, the US secretaries of defense and state must engage for the purposes of establishing a joint consultative mechanism with officials of Taiwan to develop and implement a multiyear plan to provide for the acquisition of defensive capabilities by Taiwan.
In Taipei, the Ministry of National Defense yesterday thanked the US Congress for its strong support by pushing a bill that facilitates Taiwan’s efforts to bolster its military’s capabilities and combat readiness, and ensures a free, open and stable Indo-Pacific region.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) also thanked the US Congress for passing the bill.
Its “extensive and specific” provisions relating to Taiwan mark a “historic high in the quality and quantity of support for Taiwan” in Washington, she told reporters.
Additional reporting by Yang Cheng-yu
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