TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The US House of Representatives passed a defense spending bill on Wednesday that includes nearly NT$10 billion for military articles and training for Taiwan, and other provisions supporting the country.
The US$895.2 billion National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (FY2025 NDAA), which passed with a vote of 281-140, includes funding to promote the “Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative,” modeled after the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. The bill allocates US$300 million (NT$9.7 billion) to provide Taiwan with a broad spectrum of military equipment, services, and training.
Representative Jack Bergman, chair of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations, emphasized the bill's importance before the vote. He said it would authorize the establishment of the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative to enable Taiwan to maintain its self-defense capabilities.
The bill states the Pentagon and State Department can use this initiative to bolster Taiwan's military capabilities in anti-armor, radar, manned and unmanned aerial vehicles, cyber defense, long-range precision fire, integrated air and missile defense systems, anti-ship missiles, electronic warfare and counter-electronic warfare, secure communications equipment, undersea warfare, and coastal defense. The bill also authorizes training for critical operations and maintenance for the systems and capabilities listed above.
The bill requires the State Department and Pentagon to provide Taiwan with defense supplies and services from US inventories and to provide defense supplies to foreign partners to replenish the stocks of similar supplies provided by these governments to Taiwan.
Other Taiwan-related provisions include establishing a program between the US and Taiwan for military trauma care. This is to be conducted by US military medical personnel and the Taiwanese military, covering general trauma care, amputation and amputee care, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries, and any other mental health conditions associated with these injuries.
The bill says that Taiwan's naval forces should be invited to participate in the Rim of the Pacific exercise in 2025.
The bill incorporates the "Building Options for the Lasting Security of Taiwan through European Resolve Act” (BOLSTER Act), which requires the US, European countries, and the U.K. to coordinate sanctions in the event China is found to be involved in any of the following actions against Taiwan: overthrowing its government, occupying its territory, imposing a naval blockade, seizing outer islands, or launching a cyber attack that threatens its civilian or military infrastructure.
In addition, the bill also requires the president to submit a report to the foreign affairs committees of the Senate and House on the economic impact of 30-day and 180-day PLA blockades or quarantines on Taiwan.
The bill recommends that the US and European countries “publicly and repeatedly emphasize the differences between their respective ‘One-China’ policies and the PRC's ‘One China’ principle” and refute China's propaganda and “false narratives” on United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758.