The United States House of Representatives passed the US National Defense Authorization Act on Tuesday.
The legislation includes provisions for US collaboration with Taiwan in the field of cybersecurity. The act also includes clauses on upgrading Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities and strengthening military exchanges between Taiwan and the US.
The foreign ministry says that the act shows US concern about Chinese influence on Taiwan’s upcoming elections.
The act requires reports to the US Congress about China’s interventions in Taiwanese elections. It also requires the US to prevent such moves from China within 45 days after the election.
In addition, the bill requires US Department of Defense to submit a report to the Congressional defense committee within 180 days of the bill’s enactment. The report is to include a plan for a high level, interagency US-Taiwan task force to work on cybersecurity issues. It is also to document US’s current and future cooperation with Taiwan on cybersecurity efforts.