Military cooperation between Taiwan and the US “appears to be expanding,” a report released on July 25 by the US Congressional Research Service said.
In “Taiwan: Defense and Military Issues,” the agency described arms sales as “the most concrete US contribution to Taiwan’s defense capabilities,” adding that the majority are conducted through the US government’s Foreign Military Sales program.
Between 2015 and this year, the White House notified the US Congress of more than US$28 billion in weapons sales to Taiwan, the report said.
Photo: CNA
Moreover, the 117th US Congress, which sat from January 2021 to January 2023, authorized new pathways for arms transfers under the Taiwan Enhanced Resilience Act, it said.
The act made presidential drawdown authority available for Taiwan for the first time, allowing the US Department of Defense to supply equipment and services directly from its inventory.
Since the law’s enactment, the executive branch has announced three packages using the presidential drawdown authority for Taiwan totaling US$1.5 billion, the report said.
Beyond weapons transfers, Taiwan-US security cooperation also includes training conducted in Taiwan and the US, it said.
Although such cooperation is generally not widely publicized, it “appears to be expanding,” it said, citing Taiwan’s participation in the US’ International Military Education and Training program since 2023.
From 2019 to 2023, Taiwan’s defense budget grew at an average annual rate of nearly 5 percent, the report said.
Despite the increases, Taiwan faces challenges in achieving its defense goals, including disagreements among policymakers over how best to deter military threats from China, it said.
It also pointed to difficulties Taiwan faces in military recruitment, training and retention, as well as concerns that civil defense efforts are insufficient.
“At a societal level, it is not clear what costs — in terms of economic security, physical safety and lives — Taiwan’s people would be willing or able to bear in the face of a cross-strait war,” it said.
The report also said that “Taiwan’s energy, food, water, communications and other infrastructure” are vulnerable to external disruption.
Supervised by the Library of Congress, the Congressional Research Service aims to provide US lawmakers with nonpartisan research and policy analysis.
“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
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,