US lawmaker proposes Bill seeking $3 billion to boost Taiwan's arsenal to deter China

US Representative Mike Gallagher has introduced a Bill aimed at increasing Taiwan’s asymmetric defence capabilities in a bid to protect against China’s military aggression. According to the press release, under the proposed Arm Taiwan Act 2021, the United States would enhance Taiwan’s defences against a Chinese invasion by allocating $3 billion every year for a “Taiwan Security Assistance Initiative”. It would also make Taiwan’s progress in preparing its military and fielding weapons required to deter a possible attack by China a condition for conventional arms sales to the nation. 

“General Secretary [Chinese President] Xi Jinping has made the unification of Taiwan with the mainland, by force if necessary, a key part of his legacy, and the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] is only growing more aggressive watching the [US President Joe] Biden Administration’s weakness in Afghanistan, Ukraine and Iran,” Mike Gallagher said.

“Congress needs to step up to restore deterrence before it is too late. I am proud to join Senator Hawley in introducing the Arm Taiwan Act to provide Taiwan with the necessary resources and weapons to defeat an attempted invasion," he added.

Back in November 2021, US Senator Josh Hawley had introduced a similar bill. The act urges the US Secretary of Defence to form the Taiwan Security Assistance Initiative to accelerate the nation’s deployment of asymmetric defence capabilities necessary to delay, degrade and deny a possible Chinese invasion. It would also authorise the US Defence Department $3 billion annually for the initiative for fiscal years 2023 to 2027. 

According to the bill, the funding would be conditional on the annual certification that Taiwan was matching US investments in asymmetric defences, increasing defence spending, acquiring asymmetric defence capabilities as quickly as possible and implementing defence reforms, especially with regard to reserve forces. It said that if the People’s Republic of China (PRC) were to invade and seize control of Taiwan, it would deal a severe blow to US interests by destroying one of the world’s leading democracies. 

It added that if PRC were to invade Taiwan, it would cast doubt on the ability and resolve of the US to uphold its security commitments. It would also incentivize other countries in the Indo-Pacific region to bandwagon with the People’s Republic of China, and facilitate the formation of a regional order dominated by the People’s Republic of China, the bill said. 

Tensions over Taiwan

Meanwhile, the ‘Arm Taiwan Act of 2021’ comes amid a surge in Chinese military threats and warning by the US and Taiwanese officials that China may try to invade the island in the next few years. The military balance in the Taiwan Strait is rapidly deteriorating, resulting in growing concern that China may conclude that it can, or actually be able to, invade and seize control of the island in the forthcoming future. On the other hand, the US and China have remained geopolitical rivals for decades and relations between them have further frayed due to Beijing's aggressive claims of sovereignty along the South China Sea fuelled by Chinese engagement in testing high-tech projectiles.