Congressional Taiwan Caucus Co-Chairs Applaud Taiwan’s Special Defense Budget, Call for Full Funding of Taiwan’s Defense Priorities

WASHINGTON, D.C. –– Today, U.S. Representatives Ami Bera, M.D. (CA-06), Mario Díaz-Balart (FL-26), Greg Stanton (AZ-04), and Andy Barr (KY-06), co-chairs of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, issued the following joint statement after Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan passed a special defense budget that represents an important step toward strengthening Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities and reinforcing deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region, while underscoring the need for continued investment in Taiwan’s defense priorities:

“We applaud Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan for passing a special defense budget that strengthens Taiwan’s self-defense and reinforces deterrence. We encourage the Legislative Yuan to continue working to fully fund Taiwan’s defense priorities to send a clear signal that Taiwan is prepared to meet this moment and defend its democracy.         

“At the same time, the U.S. Congress remains committed to accelerating the delivery of critical defense systems already purchased by Taiwan and will continue to support future arms sales to Taiwan. We applaud the passage of the PORCUPINE Act this week in the House Foreign Affairs Committee to help reduce the backlog in these arms sales and expedite the transfer of critical defensive capabilities to Taiwan.                   

“As co-chairs of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, we will continue working to ensure that Taiwan receives the capabilities and support it needs without delay.”

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