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
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