US President Joe Biden on Friday signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024, which requires the US secretary of defense to create a training program for Taiwan’s military, and requires a status report on the delivery of defensive weapons and services that the US has agreed to sell to Taipei.
Provisions in the NDAA related to Taiwan include measures to help boost its defense capabilities, counter Chinese influence campaigns and support Taiwan’s participation in international organizations.
One of those provisions requires the defense secretary, in consultation with “appropriate officials in Taiwan,” to establish a comprehensive training, advising and institutional capacity-building program for Taiwanese military forces, consistent with the US’ Taiwan Enhanced Resilience Act.
Photo: AP
The NDAA also directs the US secretaries of defense and state to describe actions taken to carry out the program in their annual report to the US Congress.
Other sections in the NDAA require US officials to closely monitor deliveries of defense articles to US allies, including Taiwan, and to prevent delays.
The bill forbids committing more than 85 percent of the funds available to the assistant secretary of the navy for research, development and acquisition until a plan is submitted to provide Harpoon missiles to security partners.
It also requires a briefing on the status of US-provided security assistance to Taiwan before the remaining funds can be released.
Taiwan has committed to purchasing 400 land-launched Harpoon missiles from the US. It hopes to start taking delivery of them in 2026 and to have received all 400 by the end of 2028.
The NDAA requires that the secretaries of defense and state brief congressional committees on the status of US-provided security assistance to Taiwan no later than 180 days after the date of the law’s enactment.
Those reports must include a list of defense articles and services either committed to or planned to be provided to Taiwan, and the estimated delivery schedule for each of them.
Crucially, the NDAA stipulates that the briefing must also identify any defense article or service whose delivery has been delayed by more than three months and the actions taken to prevent delays or accelerate the delivery of such items.
The NDAA also directs the defense secretary to work with Taiwanese officials on cybersecurity activities aimed at defending military networks, infrastructure and systems to counter “malicious cyber activity” aimed at military installations.
It also calls for officials to provide an assessment of the economic impact a potential Chinese invasion would have and response scenarios, along with viable economic policy options that would “cause escalating impacts” on China’s economy “during the pre-conflict phase.”
Officials are also required to provide regular assessments of Chinese efforts to convince Pacific island nations that diplomatically recognize Taiwan to change their allegiance to Beijing.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
RSS