Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense affirmed its commitment to ongoing negotiations with the United States through established channels to ensure the proper allocation of aid received, Central News Agency Taiwan said.
Supported by both parties, the US House of Representatives passed a USD 95 billion foreign aid package on Saturday, aiming to allocate additional funds to Taiwan, Israel, and Ukraine.
Earlier, House Republicans, including some who opposed allocating funds abroad instead of towards the US-Mexico border, had delayed the votes on this matter for several months.
After clearing the House, bills totaling USD 60.8 billion for Kyiv, USD 26 billion for Israel, humanitarian aid for civilians in conflict zones, and USD 8 billion for Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific will be consolidated into a unified piece of legislation.
The Senate is expected to approve this legislation on Tuesday, and the US President has pledged to promptly sign the bill into law.
Following the approval of foreign aid, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and Ministry of National Defense (MND) expressed gratitude to the US House for endorsing the foreign assistance through separate press statements issued on Sunday.
As reported by CNA Taiwan, the passed legislation allocates USD 2 billion in funds from the Foreign Military Financing Program to Taiwan and other US regional security partners to counter Chinese aggression. Additionally, another USD 1.9 billion will be directed towards replenishing defense articles and services provided to Taiwan and regional partners, as confirmed by both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense of Taiwan.
As the 45th anniversary of the enactment of the Taiwan Relations Act in April is celebrated by both sides, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) issued a statement commending the US Congress for passing the defense funding. MOFA highlighted that this action once again reaffirmed Washington’s “rock-solid” commitment to assisting the self-governing island in protecting itself.