US doubles security funding for Taiwan

The US Defense Appropriation Act for fiscal year (FY) 2024 provides additional funding for security cooperation with Taiwan and increases spending to counter China, the US House Appropriations Committee said on Thursday (21 March).

"Defense Appropriation Act, 2024, provides a $27 billion increase over the FY23 enacted level, and directs that funding to critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC," the House Appropriations Committee said in a summary of the package.

The Act doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan, the committee said.

"The Act also rejects tens of billions of dollars in waste included in the President’s Budget Request and redirects those resources to activities that counter the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and other near-peer adversaries," the committee added.

The United States would counter China by maximizing its production of critical munitions and by spending more than $66 billion for the US Indo-Pacific Command capabilities, including $42 million to bolster its military capabilities in the region, according to the committee.

In addition, the bill prohibits funding for China's Wuhan Institute of Virology - the laboratory at the center of investigations into the COVID-19 origins - and the EcoHealth Alliance, the committee said.

"The bill counters the People’s Republic of China by … rejecting the Biden administration’s inadequate shipbuilding plan by denying the request to divest four ships prematurely and funding the construction of eight battle ships," the committee said.

The document also increases investments in 5th and 6th-generation aircraft, like the F-35 jet, and next generation air dominance, the committee added.