US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects.
The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago.
Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary of the spending bill on the Web site of the US House of Representatives’ Committee on Appropriations.
Photo: AP
The act “doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,” while “directing the [US] Secretary of Defense to prioritize the delivery of defense articles and services to Taiwan.”
The State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Act in the package prioritizes funding for “national security interests in the Indo-Pacific and strengthening the defense needs of Taiwan,” including not less than US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan and US$400 million “for the Countering PRC Influence Fund,” it said.
The package also includes US$35,964,000 for the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) to carry out the Taiwan Relations Act, including the Taiwan Fellowship Program, which allows US officials to study and work in Taiwan for up to two years.
The act allocates US$4 million for the AIT to use for the Global Cooperation and Training Framework, launched by Taipei and Washington to utilize Taiwan’s expertise to address global issues.
The funds should be made available to reform the processes and procedures of “the application, consideration, and delivery of equipment and technical training under the foreign military sales program,” it says.
The US Secretary of State is required to submit a report on “the implementation and impact” of such reforms in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as an assessment of major defense equipment sought by key US allies and security partners in the region, including Taiwan.
The act also requires the US government to promote reforms at the WHO, including taking steps “to regain observer status for Taiwan.”
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday expressed gratitude toward US lawmakers across party lines and the Biden administration for supporting Taiwan through concrete actions.
The bill also underlined the importance of security in the Taiwan Strait, aiming to enhance Taiwan-US security cooperation, enhance Taiwan’s overall defense resilience and expand the nation’s international space, it said.
Allocating a line item dedicated to foreign military financing for Taiwan “demonstrated the strong cross-party consensus, in the US executive and legislative branches, on strengthening Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities and the stability in the Taiwan Strait and Indo-Pacific region,” it said.
Taiwan would continue to promote defense reforms, bolster its self-defense capabilities and cooperate with the US to safeguard peace, stability and prosperity across the Strait and in the region, it said.
The spending bill did not include funding for a US$95 billion security assistance package for Taiwan, Ukraine and Israel, which was already included in a different US Senate-passed version that the Republican-led US House of Representatives has ignored.
Additional reporting by Reuters
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) today accepted an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to lead a delegation to China next month, saying she hopes to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations and bring stability to the Taiwan Strait. “I am grateful and happy to accept this invitation,” Cheng said in a statement from the KMT chairperson’s office. Cheng said she hopes both sides can work together to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, enhance exchange and cooperation, bring stability to the Taiwan Strait and improve people’s livelihoods. At today's news conference, Cheng said any efforts to
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
The nation’s fastest supercomputer, Nano 4 (晶創26), is scheduled to be launched in the third quarter, and would be used to train large language models in finance and national defense sectors, the National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) said. The supercomputer, which would operate at about 86.05 petaflops, is being tested at a new cloud computing center in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan. The exterior of the server cabinet features chip circuitry patterns overlaid with a map of Taiwan, highlighting the nation’s central position in the semiconductor industry. The center also houses Taiwania 2, Taiwania 3, Forerunner 1 and
RSS