The US Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday filed its draft of an annual defense policy bill containing provisions to bolster defense and cybersecurity cooperation with Taiwan.
The draft, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which the committee approved in a bipartisan 24-1 vote on June 23, would authorize US$876.8 billion for military and national defense programs at the US departments of defense and energy.
It is to be debated in the Senate.
Photo: AFP
The bill directs the US secretary of defense to work with their counterpart in Taiwan to establish a “comprehensive training, advising and institutional capacity-building program” for Taiwan’s military forces.
The program would be aimed at enabling a “layered defense” of Taiwan by Taiwanese forces, including through the use of an asymmetric defense strategy, and would also boost interoperability between Taiwan and US forces and encourage information sharing, the bill says.
The legislation would also require US officials, including the secretary of defense and the heads of the US Cyber Command and the US Indo-Pacific Command, to engage with Taiwan on expanding military cybersecurity cooperation.
Aside from these initiatives, the draft NDAA would instruct the US Department of Defense to provide an assessment to the US Congress on how Taiwan has integrated the military capabilities it has received from the US over the previous 10 years.
It would also mandate the completion of a “comprehensive analysis of the risks and implications of a sustained military blockade of Taiwan” by China, a report that would be carried out by the secretary of defense and the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff in coordination with the US director of national intelligence.
The analysis would include an assessment of how China might execute a blockade, its possible precursors or warning signs, its potential effects on Taiwan and the US, and military and nonmilitary options for countering a blockade, the bill says.
In addition to the draft NDAA in the Senate, the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee passed a separate version of the legislation late last month.
Typically, after the House and Senate have passed their own versions of the NDAA, they negotiate a reconciliation of the bill to send to the president to sign into law before the end of the year.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
Speeding and badly maintained roads were the main causes of a school bus accident on a rainy day in Taipei last year that severely injured two people and left 22 with minor injuries, the Taiwan Transportation and Safety Board said. On March 11 last year, a Kang Chiao International School bus overturned inside the Wenshan Tunnel (文山隧道) on the northbound lane of the Xinyi Expressway. The tour bus, owned by Long Lai Co, exceeded the speed limit after entering the tunnel, the board’s investigation found. Sensing that the rear of the vehicle was swaying, the driver attempted to use the service and exhaust
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President