by Chris Black
The US Senate will address a bill that plans to supply the island with war supplies worth 10,000 million (10 bn) dollars over five years.
US congressmen have signalled their willingness to bolster Taiwan’s defense and say they are willing to approve additional billions of dollars in military aid for Taipei, Politico reports.
This week, a defense policy bill was presented to the US Senate that includes numerous provisions to strengthen cooperation with the island and that provides for military aid of 10,000 million dollars over five years.
“We must anticipate a future crisis and give [Chinese President] Xi Jinping reasons to think twice before invading or coercing Taiwan,” Jim Risch, a senator from the state of Idaho, told that outlet.
If the project is approved, that aid will be added to the $1.1 billion arms sale package to Taiwan, approved in September.
Tensions between Beijing and Washington over Taiwan intensified after the visit to Taipei by the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, last August.
In response, China launched a series of “unprecedented” large-scale military exercises and training activities, including live-fire drills, in sea and air space in six zones around the island.
Still, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recently indicated that he does not expect an imminent Chinese invasion of Taiwan. However, he considered that Beijing is trying to establish a “new normal” through its military activities around the island.
Taiwan has been self-governing with its own administration since 1949.
Since then, it has kept the flag and some other symbols of the former ROC, which existed on the mainland before the communists came to power.
Beijing regards Taiwan as an inalienable part of its territory. Most countries in the world, including Russia, recognize the island as an integral part of the People’s Republic of China.