Shaheen, Curtis, Tillis, Rosen Urge Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan to Strengthen Taiwan’s Defense and Advance Supplementary Budget

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, John Curtis (R-UT), Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) sent a letter to Taiwan's Legislative Yuan Speaker Han Kuo-yu and Deputy Speaker Chiang, as well as members of the Legislative Yuan, 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 Congressional delegation 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," wrote the Senators. "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 and provided below.

Dear Speaker Han Kuo-yu, Deputy Speaker Chiang, Mr. Chen Kuan-ting, Mr. Niu Hsu-ting and Mr. Wang An-hsiang:

Thank you for hosting us at the Legislative Yuan (LY) in Taipei on March 31st. We appreciated the opportunity to discuss the U.S.-Taiwan partnership and the cross-party effort you all are leading to develop a robust supplementary defense budget. Following our time in Taipei and our onward stops in Tokyo and Seoul, we remain more convinced than ever that Taiwan must invest in critical capabilities to deter aggression from an emboldened People's Republic of China (PRC). We are confident that Taipei's party leaders will come together expeditiously to put Taiwan on a path that preserves its freedoms, prevents conflict, and reflects the aspirations of an overwhelming majority of its people.

In our discussions at the LY and with President Lai and his national security team, we also took note of a consistent request of Washington: that the United States deliver on its commitments, including significant sales of vital defensive arms pending formal notification to the U.S. Congress. Those sales include counter-drone assets, an integrated battle command system, and medium-range munitions to enhance Taiwan's air defenses. The United States Congress is fully committed to the timely delivery of critical capabilities to Taiwan and we expect that pending sales will be announced in the coming weeks.

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. The conflicts in Ukraine and Iran have proven that the modern battlefield requires exactly the low-cost and dynamic systems that Taiwan is developing at the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology. Beijing is testing the limits of what it can achieve through cross-strait military aggression and one-sided political outreach. Nothing would send a stronger sign of resolve at this moment than for Taiwan to invest in long-term deterrence rooted in indigenous production.

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 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.

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