US to expedite $500M military aid to Taiwan.

The United States Fast-Tracks $500 Million Military Aid Package to Taiwan

Concerns Grow Over Chinese Aggression Against Island Nation

The Biden administration is reportedly fast-tracking a $500 million military aid package to Taiwan, using the same authority it relied on to expedite aid to Ukraine. The Defense Department will take from stockpiles of U.S. weapons and ammunition under the Presidential Drawdown Authority to give to Taiwan.

This package would be the first sent to Taiwan using the drawdown authority, as the Biden administration looks to streamline U.S. aid to Taiwan due to assessments that China is undeterred in its ambition to retake the island nation.

The 2023 National Defense Authorization Act allocated $3 billion in annual military aid to Taiwan, with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin telling the Senate Armed Services Committee in March that the Pentagon intends to send $1 billion in aid to Taiwan with the Presidential Drawdown Authority.

The Biden administration has already sent tens of billions of dollars-worth of aid to Ukraine using the fast-track authority since Russia’s invasion last year. Between January 2022 to February 2023, the United States has committed nearly $80 billion in aid to Ukraine, with $48 billion of that aid being military, $4 billion being humanitarian, and $27 billion being economic.

Diplomatic relations between Beijing and Washington have grown strained in recent years, souring even further after a Chinese spy balloon was identified over Montana and floated across the continental United States in February before the U.S. military shot it down over the Atlantic Ocean.

While the U.S. and China have grown increasingly hostile, China and Russia have made moves to strengthen their ties. The cooperation between Beijing and Moscow has fueled concern that the world is moving closer to broader instability and conflict.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Expresses “Strong Discontent”

The Chinese foreign ministry called the balloon saga “totally accidental” and expressed “strong discontent” at the U.S. shooting down the spy apparatus.

“In these circumstances, for the United States to insist on using armed force is clearly an excessive reaction that seriously violates international convention,” Beijing said in a statement. “China will resolutely defend the legitimate rights and interests of the enterprise involved, and retains the right to respond further.”

Concerns Over Broader Instability and Conflict

As China and Russia strengthen their ties, concerns are growing that the world is moving closer to broader instability and conflict. The cooperation between Beijing and Moscow has fueled these concerns, according to Bloomberg.

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