The US’ National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) enhances US support for Taiwan and counters China’s misrepresentation of UN Resolution 2758, the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Washington-based Taiwanese nonprofit promotes cooperation between Taiwan and the US.
US President Joe Biden on Monday signed the NDAA for the 2025 fiscal year into law. The bill authorized US$895 billion for the US Department of Defense, including up to US$300 million for measures that promote Taiwan-US security cooperation and enhance Taiwan’s defense capabilities.
Photo: AFP
Among the NDAA provisions favorable to Taiwan was the Building Options for the Lasting Security of Taiwan through European Resolve Act, aimed at enhancing US-Europe cooperation to bolster Taiwan’s security and international presence, the FAPA said.
The bill also encourages the US and Europe to stress the differences between their “one China” policies and that of Beijing’s “one China principle,” and refute Beijing’s claims that UN Resolution 2758 recognizes its territorial claims over Taiwan, the group said.
It applauded the “critical legislation to counter the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) groundless territorial claims over Taiwan, and ensure Taiwan’s continued freedom and independence amid China’s increasing aggression toward Taiwan,” the statement said.
The “FAPA strongly urges the incoming [US president-elect] Donald Trump administration to prioritize and intensify efforts to combat the PRC’s baseless territorial claims and its escalating aggression toward Taiwan,” FAPA president Kao Su-mei (林素梅) said in the statement.
However, the NDAA’s provisions only authorize Pentagon programs, but the actual funding has to be covered in a separate spending bill for the fiscal year ending in September next year, Reuters reported, indicating that funding for all of the measures is not guaranteed.
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