WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators John Curtis (R-UT), member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC); Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), SFRC Ranking Member; Thom Tillis (R-NC); and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) sent a letter to Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan Speaker Han Kuo-yu and Deputy Speaker Chiang, as well as Legislative Yuan members Mr. Chen Kuan-ting, Mr. Niu Hsu-ting and Mr. Wang An-hsiang, urging them to approve a supplementary defense budget that would enable Taiwan to both procure critical American defense equipment and boost domestic production of innovative drones and missile defense systems. This follows the Senators’ recent Congressionaldelegation to Taiwan and visit to the Legislative Yuan, where they reaffirmed rock solid bipartisan support for the U.S.-Taiwan partnership.
“While we advocate to build on the historic $11 billion in U.S. arms sales to Taiwan announced last December, we ask that the LY approve a supplementary defense budget that enables not only procurement of American equipment but also speedier domestic production of asymmetric capabilities,” wrote the Senators.
“The United States’ partnership with the people of Taiwan remains rock solid, built upon shared democratic values, deep economic ties and commitment to peace and stability across the Indo-Pacific region,” the senators continued. “The U.S. Congress will continue to serve as an active guardian and steward of our partnership and of Taiwan’s defense against Beijing’s unrelenting coercion.”
Full text of the letter is available here.