A US senator has reintroduced a bill aimed at authorizing Washington to lend or lease defense equipment to Taipei to deter Chinese aggression against Taiwan.
US Senator Marsha Blackburn on Thursday introduced the Taiwan Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act, cosponsored by senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio.
The content of the bill is the same as a bill Blackburn sponsored last year that failed to make it through the US Senate.
Photo: Bloomberg
Under the bill, Washington would be permitted to lend or lease defense equipment to Taiwan with interest, as part of efforts to protect the country from “potential aggression carried out by the People’s Liberation Army of China.”
Acts of aggression by Beijing include a full or partial naval blockade of Taiwan, an amphibious assault or ground invasion, or a seizure of one or more of Taiwan’s outlying islands, among others, the bill states.
It stipulates that the US military should report to the US Congress about the defense items it deems “appropriate” to loan or lease to Taiwan within 90 days of the bill being signed into law.
No later than 60 days after the bill is enacted, the US president should establish expedited procedures for the delivery of loaned or leased defense items to Taiwan, it states.
Blackburn, who visited Taiwan and met with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in August last year, said in a statement that the bill aims to “ensure Taiwan has the capacity to defend itself and strengthen the United States’ commitment to preserving freedom around the globe.”
US representatives Michelle Steele and Jimmy Panetta introduced a companion bill on March 1.
Steele said in a statement that the passage of the bill “will send an unmistakable message” to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that the US “stands with our allies and is prepared to arm Taiwan with the tools it needs to defend itself from a CCP attack.”
A US funding bill signed into law by US President Joe Biden in December last year authorizes Washington to provide up to US$2 billion in direct loans to Taiwan for military purposes under the US Foreign Military Financing Program.
Taipei at that time said it would work closely with all branches of the US government to ensure those provisions are realized in line with its national policy.
Separately, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Friday issued a joint declaration, which, among other things, called for the countries to “reaffirm the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and call for the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues.”
It also said that France and the UK would “coordinate on their concerns regarding China’s challenge to the rules-based international order, and will work with partners to manage increasing systemic rivalry and competition.”
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
‘IRRESPONSIBLE’: Beijing’s constant disruption of the ‘status quo’ in the Taiwan Strait has damaged peace, stability and security in the Indo-Pacific region, MOFA said The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China’s launch of another military drill around Taiwan, saying such actions are a “unilateral provocation” that destabilizes regional peace and stability. China should immediately stop the irresponsible and provocative actions, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said, after the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) yesterday announced the start of a new round of joint exercises around Taiwan by the army, navy and air force, which it said were approaching “from different directions.” Code-named “Justice Mission 2025,” the exercises would be conducted in the Taiwan Strait and in areas north, southwest, southeast and east of Taiwan
UNDER WAY: The contract for advanced sensor systems would be fulfilled in Florida, and is expected to be completed by June 2031, the Pentagon said Lockheed Martin has been given a contract involving foreign military sales to Taiwan to meet what Washington calls “an urgent operational need” of Taiwan’s air force, the Pentagon said on Wednesday. The contract has a ceiling value of US$328.5 million, with US$157.3 million in foreign military sales funds obligated at the time of award, the Pentagon said in a statement. “This contract provides for the procurement and delivery of 55 Infrared Search and Track Legion Enhanced Sensor Pods, processors, pod containers and processor containers required to meet the urgent operational need of the Taiwan air force,” it said. The contract’s work would be
RSS