US lawmakers on Thursday (December 3) unveiled a compromise defense bill, which includes reaffirmed support for Taiwan.
The $740 billion, 4,500-page 2021 National Defense Authorisation Act (NDAA) is the result of several months of negotiations between Republicans and Democrats in both houses of Congress, Reuters reported. The bill addresses issues from pay increases for American troops, to how many aircraft and ships can be purchased, to how to deal with China and Russia.
“The NDAA supports US efforts to help Taiwan develop capable, ready, and modern defense forces necessary for Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability and requires annual reports on the progress DoD (Department of Defense) is making to deny the strategic goals of a competitor against a defense partner,†according to a summary released by the House Armed Services Republicans.
The defense bill also establishes the Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI), which includes $2.2 billion of investments and new programmes to increase American capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region to assist US allies and “deter against Chinese malign behavior.â€
The NDAA also includes provisions to protect against Chinese industrial espionage and for transparency in regard Chinese military companies operating in the US It also contains proposals to protect US supply chains and critical research from the influence of China.
Committee aides told Reuters they expect the House will pass the bill early next week, sending it to the Senate. After that, the NDAA would go to President Donald Trump to sign or veto. Trump has threatened to veto the bill because of a provision to rename US bases with Confederate military leader names, and if the NDAA does not include a provision to repeal legal protections for tech companies, which he feels are censoring conservative voices.
The final NDAA did not include such a provision because members of Congress said it has nothing to do with the military and should not be used to stop a vital defense bill, according to Reuters.
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Category: Taiwan
