A bill aimed at enhancing space cooperation between Taiwan and the US yesterday cleared the committee stage in the US Senate, with senators saying it would help counter threats from Beijing.
The Taiwan and American Space Assistance (TASA) Act would now head to the Senate floor after being passed by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.
The act allows for extended cooperation between the Taiwan Space Agency and both NASA and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Areas of cooperation would include satellite program development, space exploration, as well as atmospheric and weather programs.
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Space Agency
The act would also allow NASA and NOAA to exchange personnel with the Taiwan Space Agency to bolster Taiwan’s space capabilities.
The bipartisan bill was first introduced in September last year by US representatives French Hill and Gabe Amo.
NASA and the NOAA have limited authority to work with the Taiwan Space Agency, which was launched in 2022, due to the US government’s “one China” policy, Hill and Amo said in a statement last year.
The act helps the US counter threats from China and addresses gaps in NASA’s ability to cooperate with Taiwan’s space efforts, US senators Eric Schmitt, Tammy Duckworth and Michael Bennet said in a joint statement yesterday.
Space exploration and satellite operations are becoming central to US national security and would help to counter “malign influences such as China,” Schmitt said.
“As the United States continues to be the global leader in space exploration and in expanding new, innovative technology for space and satellite operations, it’s crucial that we work with our partners in the Indo-Pacific to advance and prosper,” Duckworth said.
“Taiwan is a vibrant democracy, a key economic partner, and an increasingly capable space player. This legislation will enable NASA and NOAA cooperation with Taiwan’s Space Agency, strengthening our joint ability to tackle shared challenges in space,” Bennet said.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
If China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. In a Taiwan contingency, cable disruption would be one of the earliest preinvasion actions and the signal that escalation had begun, he said, adding that Taiwan’s current cable repair capabilities are insufficient. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) yesterday held a hearing on US-China Competition Under the Sea, with Hsu speaking on
RSS