In light of Taiwan facing continued military threats from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), a bipartisan bill led by US Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen from Nevada was introduced to strengthen Taiwan’s defense capabilities and increase the resilience of its supply chain.
On Thursday, May 2nd, Senator Rosen and Republican Senator Dan Sullivan from Alaska jointly put forth the bipartisan bill called the “Transpacific Allies Investing in Weapons to Advance National (TAIWAN) Security Act.”
Democratic Senator Tim Kaine from Virginia, Republican Senator Rick Scott from Florida, Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth from Illinois, and Republican Senator Joni Ernst from Iowa also joined their ranks.
According to Fox News, Senator Rosen stated, “As China ramps up its military construction and aggressive actions against Taiwan, we must not only ensure our own strength but also bolster the capabilities of our democratic ally Taiwan. I am proud to lead a bipartisan bicameral bill to deepen the defense relationship between the United States and Taiwan, enhance the flexibility of the supply chain, and help improve Taiwan’s military readiness.”
The goal of this bill is to strengthen the connection between the United States and Taiwan and proactively address potential supply chain and defense challenges that Taiwan may face.
Specifically, the bill proposed by Rosen and Sullivan would require Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to “appropriately consider” enhancing defense industrial base cooperation between the United States and Taiwan.
This bill is a bicameral one, with the House version introduced by Republican Congresswoman Michelle Steel from California and Democratic Congressman Steven Horsford from Nevada.
In his statement regarding the bill, Senator Scott emphasized, “The evil dictator of communist China, Xi Jinping, is planning to invade Taiwan and continue attacking democracy in a quest for world domination, and this is no longer a secret.”
He stressed that the United States “cannot sit idly by and watch this happen; it starts with supporting our peaceful democratic ally Taiwan and its military.”
After months of bipartisan and inter-party disagreements in both chambers of Congress, a $95 billion comprehensive foreign aid supplemental package has been passed and signed into law by President Biden to support Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan.
This package includes $8 billion to enhance Taiwan and Indo-Pacific region capabilities to resist threats from the CCP.