Washington, July 30 (CNA) U.S. House representatives have introduced their own version of the Taiwan Peace Through Strength Act, following their colleagues in the Senate, with the aim of enhancing Taipei’s military capabilities amid rising threats from China.
In a bipartisan move, Democratic Representative Chris Pappas and Republican Representative Jim Banks on Friday introduced the bill to “reinforce our nation’s support of Taiwan as the island faces the increased threat of a Chinese Communist Party military attack,” the Democratic lawmaker said in a statement.
“As Taiwan continues to face threats to its security and sovereignty, the United States must reaffirm our support for and long-term cooperation with Taiwan,” Pappas said. “This legislation would prioritize Taiwan’s resiliency in the face of potential conflicts and expedite the delivery of much-needed resources to ensure they have the capability to defend themselves effectively.”
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio introduced the Senate version of the Taiwan Peace Through Strength Act on June 14.
Also in the statement, Banks said he was proud to be leading this bipartisan effort with Rubio to bolster Taiwan’s defenses because Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (???) “extreme rhetoric makes it clear that lawmakers in Washington must act now to deter a Chinese invasion.”
While the content of the House version was not immediately available, Chris said in the statement that the act clarifies U.S. authorities intent to arm Taiwan as stated in the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA).
In the Senate version of the bill, the legislation requires language regarding “arms of a defensive character” to be replaced with new language that sets an new standard for arms sales, in order to deter conflict with China’s People’s Liberation Army.
The TRA was enacted in 1979 to maintain commercial, cultural and other unofficial relations between the U.S. and Taiwan after Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing. It requires the U.S. “to provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character,” therefore Washington has so far only provided defensive weapons to Taipei.
According to Pappas, the House bill also requires U.S. military sales to Taiwan to be expedited and prioritized in the face of a delivery delay of about US$19 billion worth of arms.
In addition, the bill aims to set up regular U.S.-Taiwan exercises, training and professional exchanges, as well as the establishment of a Taiwan Critical Munitions Acquisition Fund. As part of this, the U.S. government would be authorized to spend US$2 billion on Taiwan in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) a year.
The bill also states the U.S. would apply Ukraine munitions production capacity authorities to Taiwan, according to Pappas.
Typically, after the House and Senate pass their own versions, a bill will be negotiated between the two before being sent to the president to sign into law.
Washington also announced a US$345 million military aid package for Taiwan on Friday, which is set to be delivered under a Presidential Drawdown Authority approved last year by the U.S. Congress.
The White House announced the package will include “defense articles and services of the Department of Defense, and military education and training,” but did not specify what exactly will be provided.
