US senators introduce legislation to strengthen defence ties with Taiwan
- Taiwan Partnership Act would bolster ‘exchanges between senior defence officials and general officers of the US and Taiwan to improve interoperability’
- The bill is also meant to increase ‘Taiwan’s capability to conduct security activities, including traditional combatant commands’
The Taiwan Partnership Act, sponsored by Illinois Democrat Tammy Duckworth and a group of Republicans including Texas senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz as well as Rick Scott of Florida, would bolster “exchanges between senior defence officials and general officers of the US and Taiwan to improve interoperability, improve Taiwan’s reserve forces, and expand humanitarian and disaster relief cooperation”, according to a joint statement by the lawmakers.
The bill is also meant to increase “Taiwan’s capability to conduct security activities, including traditional combatant commands, cooperation with the National Guard, and multilateral activities”.
Instead of mandating any specific action or engagement channels, the bill – which is now under consideration in the Senate Armed Services Committee – would require the Defence Department to make recommendations by February 15, 2022 about “the feasibility of enhancing cooperation between the National Guard and Taiwan”.
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“Taiwan is an important strategic partner for the US in the Indo-Pacific region,” Duckworth said in the announcement, touting the need for “enhanced cooperation between our two peoples on important issues like emergency response, cyber defence, education, cultural exchange and adviser programmes”.
“Our National Guard units do great work in our communities every day, and they’re ideally suited to help build partner capacity across this range of skill sets in Taiwan,” she added.
