TAIPEI (Taiwan News) —Congress has approved a defense spending bill that includes strengthened military coordination between the U.S. and Taiwan, including military cybersecurity cooperation, speeding up the delivery of arms, and a strategy for dealing with a Chinese blockade of the country.
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY2024 NDAA), which has recently been negotiated by the House and Senate, was passed by the Senate Wednesday (Dec. 13) with 87 votes in favor and 13 votes against. The House also passed the vote on Thursday (Dec. 14) with 310 votes to 118. The US$886.3 billion (NT$27.69 trillion) bill will take effect after President Joe Biden signs it.
The legislation requires the expansion of U.S.-Taiwan military cooperation under the Taiwan Enhanced Resilience Act. It requires the defense secretary to consult with Taiwan officials on developing a "comprehensive training, advising, and institutional capacity-building program" for Taiwan's military.
Congress requires that this plan enable Taiwan's military to conduct layered defense, including supporting an asymmetric defense strategy, strengthening interoperability between the U.S. and Taiwan military, encouraging information sharing between the two militaries, and strengthening professional military education and civilian control of the military.
The bill requires the defense secretary, with the consent of the secretary of state, to seek contact with officials in Taiwan to expand U.S.-Taiwan military cybersecurity cooperation and take the following measures: actively defend military networks, infrastructure, and systems; counter malicious cyber activities; utilize U.S. commercial and military cybersecurity technology and services to harden and defend such networks, infrastructure, and systems; and conduct joint network security training activities and training.
The defense secretary must submit a semiannual briefing to Congress, describing China's military activities related to Taiwan and the South China Sea, efforts by the Pentagon to engage with the People's Liberation Army (PLA), and U.S. efforts to foster the defense of Taiwan and strengthen maritime security in the South China Sea.
The defense secretary, in consultation with the secretary of state, is to submit a confidential report to the relevant congressional committees within 90 days of the bill taking effect, explaining the "absorptive capacity of the military forces of Taiwan for military capabilities provided and approved by the United States for delivery to Taiwan in the last 10 years, including the date of projected or achieved initial and full operational capabilities."
In addition, the defense secretary and the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. Army are to coordinate with the director of national intelligence to submit to Congress a comprehensive analysis of the risks and impacts of a sustained military blockade on Taiwan within 180 days of the bill taking effect.
This report should present the circumstances under which China can implement a sustained military blockade against Taiwan, identify warnings signs of a blockade, itemize other coercive methods that China may adopt, assess the impact of a blockade on Taiwan, list military problems posed by a blockade, and point out the military capabilities necessary to address these problems, among other steps.
