Republican bill for billions in US military aid for Taiwan pressures Biden on China
- The funding would come with conditions, including matching spending by Taipei, but it is so far unclear whether Democrats will support the move
- Legislation adds to pressure on the White House for bolder action to strengthen ties with the self-ruled island
The bill’s lead sponsor is Senator Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Cosponsors include Republican Senators Mike Crapo, John Cornyn, Bill Hagerty, Mitt Romney and Marco Rubio.
It was not immediately clear how Democrats view the bill. Support for Taiwan is a rare issue that garners bipartisan backing in the deeply divided Senate. The US is the island’s main military supplier.
The funding would come with conditions, including Taiwan committing to match US spending, and whether Taipei and Washington agree to conduct joint long-range planning for capacity development.
The US has urged Taiwan to pursue defence reforms to focus on capabilities to make its military forces more mobile and harder to attack, as well as to ensure it maintains a strong reserve force.
The “Taiwan Deterrence Act” would amend the existing Arms Export Control Act, which governs foreign military sales, to make it easier for US firms to sell arms to Taiwan. It would also require an annual assessment of Taiwan’s efforts to advance defence strategy towards the mainland.