The United States passed into law on Friday its defense policy bill which includes provisions for Taiwan. Foreign ministry spokesperson Joanne Ou on Tuesday thanked the US for its support for Taiwan.
Ou said,“Taiwan has gained bipartisan support from both the US Senate and House of Representatives. We are very thankful for the US government’s support. During his term, President Donald Trump upgraded Taiwan-US relations to its best in history, including approval of eleven arms sales to Taiwan.”
The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is a US$741 billion policy bill that passed on Friday. The bill is an initiative to strengthen U.S. military presence in the Asia Pacific region and also has a section about Taiwan’s defense.
The section reaffirms the Taiwan Relations Act and the “Six Assurances” provided by the US to Taiwan as “the foundation for US-Taiwan relations”. It also requires the US secretary of state to give an annual briefing to the US Congress on US arms sales to Taiwan within 45 days after the bill passes.
The section also states that the U.S. secretary of defense must brief Congress within 180 days of the bill's passage on the feasibility of establishing a medical security partnership with Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense.