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.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday inaugurated the Danjiang Bridge across the Tamsui River in New Taipei City, saying that the structure would be an architectural icon and traffic artery for Taiwan. Feted as a major engineering achievement, the Danjiang Bridge is 920m long, 211m tall at the top of its pylon, and is the longest single-pylon asymmetric cable-stayed bridge in the world, the government’s Web site for the structure said. It was designed by late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. The structure, with a maximum deck of 70m, accommodates road and light rail traffic, and affords a 200m navigation channel for boats,
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