The US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on Wednesday approved a draft bill designed to enhance Taiwan’s military capabilities and diplomatic ties with the US.
The Providing Our Regional Companions Upgraded Protections in Nefarious Environments Act, or PORCUPINE Act, would streamline the process of arms sales to Taiwan by designating the nation as a “NATO plus” partner.
In addition to the PORCUPINE Act, the committee approved by voice vote 17 bills, including the Deter PRC Aggression Against Taiwan Act, the US-Taiwan Partnership in the Americas Act and the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, US Senator Chris Coons said, calling Wednesday the most productive day the committee has had in years.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The legislation would shorten the congressional notification period for arms sales to Taiwan to a length comparable to members of NATO and other key US allies such as Japan, South Korea, Australia and Israel.
The bills would either head to informal negotiations between the leadership of congressional Democrats and Republicans or be attached to another piece of legislation to expedite their passage into law, Coons said.
In April, Coons, a Democrat, and US Senator Pete Ricketts, a Republican, cosponsored the PORCUPINE Act, following a visit to Taiwan with a bipartisan delegation.
Lieutenant General Huang Wen-chi (黃文?), who heads the Department of Strategic Planning at the Ministry of National Defense, yesterday told a legislative meeting that the act would mainly affect the nation’s procurement of innovative defense technology.
Decreasing the congressional notification period from 30 days to 15 days would not significantly accelerate the acquisition of conventional systems, which are most often delayed by contract negotiations and production logjams, he said.
The act’s benefits would be more evident in the procurement of systems used in asymmetric warfare that are shelf-ready and fast to produce, such as Altius-600M attack drones, Huang added.
The bill signifies that the US believes peace in the Taiwan Strait and in the Indo-Pacific region is core to Washington’s national interests, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said.
When asked to clarify the scope of proposed Taiwan-US joint collaboration in defense technology, Koo said that the US is keen to decouple supply chains for drones and other key capabilities from China.
The Defense Innovation Office in February established communication channels with the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit to hasten the introduction of commercial technology for military applications in the Taiwanese armed forces, he said.
The military has already utilized the mechanism to buy prototypes of systems for field tests that could expedite the procurement cycle of promising arms, Koo said.
An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed. Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and
STRAIT OF HORMUZ: In the case of a prolonged blockade by Iran, Taiwan would look to sources of LNG outside the Middle East, including Australia and the US Taiwan would not have to ration power due to a shortage of natural gas, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday, after reports that the Strait of Hormuz was closed amid the conflict in the Middle East. The government has secured liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies for this month and contingency measures are in place if the conflict extends into next month, Kung told lawmakers. Saying that 25 percent of Taiwan’s natural gas supplies are from Qatar, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) asked about the situation in light of the conflict. There would be “no problems” with
PLANE HIT: The Israeli military said it shot down an Iranian Air Force fighter over Tehran, while an Iranian warship sank off Sri Lanka, with no cause known The US and Israel yesterday hit Iran’s capital and other cities in multiple airstrikes on the fifth day of the war with Iran. Israel targeted the Iranian leadership and security forces, while the Islamic Republic responded with missile barrages and drone attacks on Israel, and across the region. Tehran residents woke to dawn blasts and Iranian state television showed the ruins of building in the center of the capital. The Shiite seminary city of Qom and multiple other cities were also targeted. With fighter jets roaring overhead, those still in Tehran looked anxiously to the skies. One man, who ran a clothing shop,
Taiwan pineapples are to be exported to the US for the first time later this year, after the US yesterday announced importation requirements, the Ministry of Agriculture said today. The US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service yesterday published a draft of requirements to import Taiwanese pineapples, with a 62-day comment period, the ministry said in a news release. The US maintains strict requirements for imported fresh fruit, it said. The ministry’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency applied to export pineapples to the US in 2020 and has since cooperated with the US to provide all the necessary information and reports, it
RSS