A bipartisan group of US representatives have introduced a draft US-Taiwan Defense Innovation Partnership bill, aimed at accelerating defense technology collaboration between Taiwan and the US in response to ongoing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The bill was introduced by US representatives Zach Nunn and Jill Tokuda, with US House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chairman John Moolenaar and US Representative Ashley Hinson joining as original cosponsors, a news release issued by Tokuda’s office on Thursday said.
The draft bill “directs the US Department of Defense to work directly with Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense through their respective Defense Innovation Units,” it said.
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The cooperation “will fast-track the development and fielding of dual-use technologies — such as drones, artificial intelligence, microchips and advanced surveillance systems — that enhance collective deterrence and reinforce America’s strategic edge in the region,” it said.
The bill also identifies directed energy weapons, missile technology and reconnaissance technology as areas the for coordinated development of dual-use defense capabilities between Taiwan and the US.
The news release quoted Moolenaar as saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) expands coercion aimed at Taiwan with each passing day, and “this legislation would strengthen critical defense industrial collaboration with Taiwan while enhancing our shared readiness against an increasingly threatening Beijing.”
“The defense partnership laid out in this bill will be a critical deterrence tool, accelerating Taiwan’s access to next-generation US technology and giving them the asymmetric edge they need to defend their sovereignty,” it quoted Nunn as saying.
The legislation reinforces the US’ commitment to peace through strength, and empowers innovators, strengthens US’ allies and sends a clear message to the CCP that “the United States will stand firm against aggression and invest in the tools needed to defend freedom in the Indo-Pacific,” it said.
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