‘Arm Taiwan Act’ bill proposed in US Congress increase Taiwan defence

Washington/Taipei – The United States has started comprehensive moves to increase the defence preparedness of Taiwan given the increased Chinese activities. The bill ‘Arm Taiwan Act’ has been presented in the US Congress. The bill mentions supplying defence equipment worth $3 billion to Taiwan. Republican party member Mike Gallagher has proposed this bill. Gallagher justified the bill saying, ‘General Secretary Xi Jinping has made the unification of Taiwan with the mainland, by force if necessary, a key part of his legacy and the CCP is only growing more aggressive watching the Biden Administration’s weakness in Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Iran. Hence, the US Congress is introducing the Arm Taiwan Act to provide Taiwan with the necessary resources and weapons to defeat an attempted invasion.’

Moreover, the US Congressman also claimed that Taiwan needs the right resources and weapons to counter the possible Chinese attack in the future. Under the Arm Taiwan Act, the US defence department will start the Taiwan Security Assistance Initiative. At the same time, the United States will have to provide defence assistance worth $3 billion per annum to Taiwan from 2023 to 2027. The Arm Taiwan Act also has a provision to assist in supplying necessary materials for the Asymmetric Defence of Taiwan.

Against the background of the Act, moves have started in the United States to ensure that the supply of F-16 fighter jets is made to Taiwan before the planned date. As per the current agreement, the new Block 70 F-16 fighter jets of the United States were to join the Taiwanese air force in 2026. But given the increasing Chinese threat, the US defence department has started moves to make this supply at the earliest. Furthermore, the sources at Pentagon informed that the manufacturing company Lockheed Martin would be mainly be instructed for this purpose.

Meanwhile, the Taiwanese parliament has approved the defence budget for an additional $8.7 billion. Taiwan had made a provision of $17 billion for defence expenditure for 2022. This additional $8.7 billion will be added to the amount of defence expense. It is said that the additional provision is for the acquisition of cruise missiles, Attack Drone systems, and new warships.