The final draft of the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act includes up to $12 billion in security assistance to Taiwan over the next five years.
The bill includes the Taiwan Enhanced Resilience Act authorizing up to $2 billion in “security assistance over the next five years to modernize Taiwan’s security capabilities,” Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) wrote in a statement.
It also authorizes up to $2 billion in loans to the territory to buy US weapons and up to $100 million a year in contingency stockpiles of munitions.
‘Major Non-NATO Ally’
The $858 billion bill does not include earlier proposals to treat Taiwan as a “major non-NATO ally,” or sanction China in the event of “significant escalation in aggression” against Taiwan, according to Reuters.
The bill authorizes $817 billion for the Department of Defense and $29 billion for national security programs within the Department of Energy.
The legislation is expected to be passed by the Senate and House of Representatives this month before being sent to the president to sign into law.
