US lawmakers set US$717 billion defence bill, with eye on China, Russia and Turkey
House of Representatives’ bill includes provisions to counter perceived threats from China and Russia
US House of Representatives lawmakers released details on Friday of a US$717 billion annual defence policy bill, including efforts to compete with Russia and China and a measure to temporarily halt weapons sales to Turkey.
The House Armed Services Committee is due to debate next week the annual National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA), which authorises the level of defence spending and sets policies controlling how the funding is used.
One of the few pieces of major legislation passed by Congress every year, the NDAA is used as a vehicle for a broad range of policy measures, as well as determining everything from military pay levels and benefits to which ships or aircraft will be modernised, bought or discontinued.
The committee will not release the bill itself until next week, but Republicans, who control the panel, and the minority Democrats, each released summaries.
On China, the proposed NDAA includes provisions including improving Taiwan’s defence capabilities and barring any US government agency from using “risky” technology produced by Huawei and ZTE, which a committee statement describes as “linked to the Chinese Communist Party’s intelligence apparatus”.
Washington has recently made a series of moves aimed at stopping or reducing access by Huawei and ZTE to the US economy amid allegations the telecommunications equipment companies could be using their technology to spy on Americans.
