The White House’s 2025 fiscal budget proposal, released on Monday, includes a US$100 million request to assist Taiwan in enhancing deterrence capabilities, and maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
The funding would help the US Department of State and the US Agency for International Development bolster and expand Taiwan’s collaboration with international partners, the department said in a statement.
It described the US$100 million request as a “historic investment in Taiwan’s security” through the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) mechanism “to strengthen deterrence and maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”
Photo: Reuters
The request comes after US President Joe Biden signed off on a US$80 million grant through the FMF in November last year to bolster Taiwan’s military capabilities.
US Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard Verma said it was “historic” because it would create a dedicated funding item for Taiwan.
“We break out Taiwan for the first time and have a specific line item for it. It reaffirms our commitment to security assistance for Taiwan, and to a free and open Indo-Pacific. I think it’s very clear. I think it stands on its own,” Verma said.
Regarding whether the funding would provide for a permanent training mission for US special forces in Taiwan, Verma said he did not think so, adding that it was just “traditional security assistance.”
“There’s also IMET [International Military Education and Training] assistance, and again, you have to read that together with the totality of our assistance in the Indo-Pacific Strategy and the new mandatory funding we’ve also added,” he said.
IMET is intended to establish rapport between the US military and those of other nations to build alliances.
In a separate budget overview released by the US Department of Defense, its proposal includes a US$500 million request to replenish US weapons stocks in Taiwan using the Presidential Drawdown Authority.
The “first-time funding request” would “address aggression in the region and ensure continued support to our allies,” while enabling the Pentagon to replace its inventory of “munitions and equipment and maintain readiness,” the defense department said.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he