The US Senate has voted to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2023. Now, the yearly defense bill is now on the hands of President Joe Biden to sign.
According to Defense News, the defense bill comes with landmark legislation to Taiwan, which can help deter Chinese aggression and avoid a war.
The 2023 US Defense Bill
So, what are the key elements included in the US Defense bill? One is that it will help strengthen Taiwan's ability to counter an attack by Beijing. Another key element to the bill is that it will improve the US military's ability to quickly respond should there be an attack against Taiwan.
And finally, this will help establish long-overdue US-Taiwan joint military planning and exercises.
Together, the two countries represent the most consequential US legislation since the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act.
The US, as part of the NDAA, will invest in support for Taiwan's armed forces. This includes a provision of up to $2 billion a year in Foreign Military Financing for Taiwan over five years if US secretaries of defense and state can certify that Taiwan has increased its defense spending compared the previous year.
If it does, it will have a ten per cent to 12 percent increase in Taiwan's defense spending. In addition, this will reward Taiwan for getting its defense spending up to around 2.3 percent of its GDP.
The legislation will also include a much-needed guidance to US Defense and State Departments to prioritize the delivery of arms to Taiwan. It will also authorize the Pentagon to set a regional contingency stockpile for Taiwan, which will involve munitions and other defense articles.
Moreover, the legislation also identifies Taiwan as a participant in the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program that will help in training individual foreign officers and senior enlisted personnel.
It also authorizes Taiwan to benefit from both Presidential Drawdown Authorities and Special Defense Acquisition Funds. The drawdown authorities allow US military to arm Taiwan faster in a crisis through US stocks.
Lastly, there will be a $2 billion loan program for Taiwan's military purchases. Hence, this could close the gap between military Taipei and the one it has.
Can Taiwan Finally Counter Chinese Invasion?
With all these measures, it's likely that Taiwan will still have a tough time to counter Chinese invasion. This is because all these programs are designed to strengthen to stall the progress of China, which provides the US military enough time to surge. Still, for Taiwan to deter China's aggression, it will require a more capable US Air Force and US Navy.
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