A US government funding bill for fiscal 2023 that includes provisions to authorize US$2 billion in loans to Taiwan, but not grants, to buy weapons on Friday cleared the US Congress following a vote in the House of Representatives.
The US$1.65 trillion Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act, covering funding for the US government, was approved by the House in a 225-201 vote, with one abstention.
The bill, which cleared the US Senate the previous day and now awaits US President Joe Biden’s signature to take effect, would provide a record US$858 billion in defense funding for the US — a 10 percent increase of the funding in fiscal 2022 — and US$772 billion in non-defense funding.
Photo: AFP
The bill would allow Washington to provide up to US$2 billion in direct loans to Taiwan under the Foreign Military Financing Program.
Taipei would be required to pay the debt within 12 years.
However, the bill does not include provisions for US$10 billion in grants — US$2 billion per year over the next five years — for Taiwan to buy US-made weapons, as was mentioned in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal 2023, which was signed into law by Biden earlier on Friday.
Despite enactment of the NDAA, grants and loans must still be proposed through appropriation bills and approved by the US Congress before Taiwan can receive them. Even though the NDAA includes provision for grants, US law stipulates that funding cannot be provided if it is not included in an appropriations act.
The appropriation bill would also authorize funding to support a fellowship program that offers opportunities for US federal employees to live and work in Taiwan for up to two years.
The NDAA authorizes establishment of a regional contingency stockpile for Taiwan using excess defense articles.
The NDAA mandates that the US Department of State and Department of Defense prioritize and expedite processing of requests from Taiwan for weapons under the Foreign Military Sales program.
It says that they must not delay processing of requests for bundling purposes.
In addition, the NDAA includes a nonbinding provision stating Taiwanese naval forces should be included in the Rim of the Pacific exercises, as appropriate, in 2024, but does not require the US administration to invite Taiwan to join the drills.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
A crowd of over 200 people gathered outside the Taipei District Court as two sisters indicted for abusing a 1-year-old boy to death attended a preliminary hearing in the case yesterday afternoon. The crowd held up signs and chanted slogans calling for aggravated penalties in child abuse cases and asking for no bail and “capital punishment.” They also held white flowers in memory of the boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), who was allegedly tortured to death by the sisters in December 2023. The boy died four months after being placed in full-time foster care with the
A Taiwanese woman on Sunday was injured by a small piece of masonry that fell from the dome of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican during a visit to the church. The tourist, identified as Hsu Yun-chen (許芸禎), was struck on the forehead while she and her tour group were near Michelangelo’s sculpture Pieta. Hsu was rushed to a hospital, the group’s guide to the church, Fu Jing, said yesterday. Hsu was found not to have serious injuries and was able to continue her tour as scheduled, Fu added. Mathew Lee (李世明), Taiwan’s recently retired ambassador to the Holy See, said he met
The Shanlan Express (山嵐號), or “Mountain Mist Express,” is scheduled to launch on April 19 as part of the centennial celebration of the inauguration of the Taitung Line. The tourism express train was renovated from the Taiwan Railway Corp’s EMU500 commuter trains. It has four carriages and a seating capacity of 60 passengers. Lion Travel is arranging railway tours for the express service. Several news outlets were invited to experience the pilot tour on the new express train service, which is to operate between Hualien Railway Station and Chihshang (池上) Railway Station in Taitung County. It would also be the first tourism service
RSS