TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday (May 16) said the U.S. will soon send "significant" security aid to Taiwan.

During a meeting of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Austin told lawmakers he was pleased that "the United States will soon provide significant additional security assistance to Taiwan through (the) presidential drawdown authority that Congress authorized last year." The Biden administration will reportedly be using the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), similar to what is being used to accelerate the supply of weapons to Ukraine.

Under the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2023, US$1 billion (NT$30.74 billion) has been allocated to Taiwan through the use of the PDA. This fast-track authority has been used more than 35 times for Ukraine, according to a source cited by Reuters.

Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) on May 8 confirmed that talks were underway with the White House to provide a weapons package worth US$500 million to Taiwan. Chiu said the arms acquisition will not use funds allocated for weapons purchases.

Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research, was cited by CNA as saying that US$500 million could be used to buy about 3,000 Javelin missiles, 6,000 Stinger missiles, 500 Harpoon anti-ship missiles, or 120 MIM-104F (PAC-3) Patriot missiles.