The U.S. House of Representatives passed a comprehensive legislative package worth 95 billion dollars on Saturday (April 20). Taiwan’s military announced on Sunday that they will discuss with the United States how to utilize the assistance funds included in this legislative package. This comes at a time when Chinese military aircraft are once again approaching Taiwan.
Despite not having formal diplomatic relations, the United States remains Taiwan’s most important international supporter and arms provider. According to the Taiwan Relations Act, the U.S. is obligated to ensure Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities.
Taiwan is facing increasing military pressure from China. Beijing has always claimed sovereignty over Taiwan and has not ruled out the use of force, while the Taiwanese government maintains that only the people of Taiwan can determine their own future.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Indo-Pacific Security Supplemental bill with a vote of 385 to 34 on Saturday. The bill provides 8.1 billion dollars to counter China’s actions in the Indo-Pacific region. This includes 3.3 billion dollars for developing submarine infrastructure; 2 billion dollars for foreign military financing for Taiwan and other key allies; 1.9 billion dollars for supplementing defense articles and services for Taiwan and regional partners. The bill has been sent to the Senate and once passed, it will be signed by President Biden.
The Taiwan Ministry of National Defense expressed gratitude for the passage of this bill, stating that it demonstrates the “strong as a rock” support of the U.S. for Taiwan.
The Ministry of National Defense added that Taiwan will coordinate the application of relevant budgets with the U.S. through existing communication mechanisms, striving to enhance its defense capabilities to ensure Taiwan’s security and peace in the Taiwan Strait.
As the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill to support Taiwan, China increased its military threats towards the island. On Sunday morning, the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense stated that within a 24-hour period until 6 a.m. on Sunday, Taiwanese forces detected Chinese military aircraft 21 times, with 17 instances crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entering the northern and southwestern airspace. This underscores the pressure Taiwan is facing.
According to maps provided by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, some Chinese aircraft were only about 40 nautical miles (70 kilometers) off the northern and southern areas of Taiwan on Saturday.
Wang Ting-yu, a member of Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, stated that Taiwan’s armed forces are capable of tracking and responding using their own aircraft and land-based missile systems.
“But the actions of the Chinese Communist Party are provocative and very irresponsible,” he said on social media.
On Saturday, the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense announced that Chinese warships and aircraft were once again conducting “joint combat patrols” around Taiwan.