Key Taiwan-friendly provisions in the two acts and their significance for Taiwan-US relations
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (NDAA 2023) and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Appropriations Act) provide a legal basis and a variety of policy tools for the partnership between Taiwan and the United States in multiple areas. The acts demonstrate the US Congress’s staunch support for comprehensive Taiwan-US cooperation and lay the foundation for promoting such cooperation going forward. Key points in the legislation are as follows:
1. Foreign Military Financing: For each of the fiscal years 2023 through 2027, the NDAA 2023 authorizes grant assistance to Taiwan up to US$2 billion (US$10 billion over five years) and military financing loans not exceeding US$2 billion during the fiscal years 2023 through 2027. The Appropriations Act allocates funding under the heading Foreign Military Financing Program that can be used to provide direct loans and loan guarantees to Taiwan not exceeding US$2 billion.
2. Taiwan Fellowship Program: The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) has been allocated an additional budget to establish the Taiwan Fellowship Program after the US Secretary of State was required to investigate the feasibility of establishing such an initiative during the previous fiscal year (2022). An associated explanatory statement calls on the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Director of the AIT, to submit an implementation plan to the US House Committee on Appropriations within 90 days of the enactment of the Appropriations Act.
3. International Military Education and Training: The acts call for US executive agencies to establish a program of international military education and training cooperation with Taiwan to enhance interoperability and capabilities for joint operations between the military forces of Taiwan and the United States.
4. Increase in funding for the Global Cooperation and Training Framework: The Appropriations Act allocates US$4 million toward the Global Cooperation and Training Framework, up from US$3 million this year.
5. Designating Taiwan for stronger cooperation in the Pacific: Echoing the Taiwan-US MOU on development and humanitarian assistance cooperation signed in November, the acts clearly call on US executive agencies to strengthen development and security cooperation in Pacific island nations in coordination with its partners, including Taiwan.
6. Text referring to maps of Taiwan: The Appropriations Act includes text stating “none of the funds made available by this Act should be used to create, procure, or display any map that inaccurately depicts the territory and social and economic system of Taiwan and the islands or island groups administered by Taiwan authorities.”
Erroneous interpretation 1: The United States fails to honor its pledge to provide military grants to Taiwan while requiring loans to be repaid within 12 years.
The NDAA 2023 calls for the United States to make Foreign Military Financing available to Taiwan, including authorized grant assistance of up to US$2 billion for each of the fiscal years 2023 through 2027 as well as optional loans of up to a total of US$2 billion over these five fiscal years. The NDAA 2023 establishes a legal basis for the provision of grants and loans to Taiwan, and the availability of loans is incorporated in the Appropriations Act. How these provisions are to be implemented will be determined through further discussions and consultations between the US administration and Congress and other relevant parties.
The NDAA 2023 and the Appropriations Act fall under the purview of different Congressional committees and are enacted through different legislative procedures. It is not unusual for two items of legislation such as these to contain differences, especially given that new items and high figures are involved. Both acts were finalized after close communications between and concerted efforts by all relevant parties, including Congressional leaders and committees and the administration. The government of Taiwan will continue to engage the US Congress and administration in discussions on identifying the most appropriate way to gradually implement the Taiwan-friendly provisions of the acts. Simplistic and distorted allusions to the acts as a US failure to provide grants to Taiwan not only fail to reflect reality but also deliberately cast a negative light on Taiwan-US relations and undermine the goodwill of friends of Taiwan in the US Congress.
Erroneous interpretation 2: US military aid is about selling arms and providing loans to Taiwan; Taiwan is celebrating prematurely.
The US$2 billion loan mentioned in the Appropriations Act must be agreed upon by both Taiwan and the United States before it can be made available. It is not being forced upon Taiwan. That is to say, the United States will in no way compel Taiwan to seek a loan if it is not needed. The United States’ purpose in incorporating the provision in related legislation was to ensure through the NDAA 2023 that a total of US$10 billion could be made available to Taiwan during the abovementioned five-year period and that Taiwan could make flexible use of such funds when the United States itself has a limited budget.
In fact, strengthening national defense and protecting the homeland are Taiwan’s responsibility. The government will fulfill its obligations by ensuring that sufficient national defense budget is allocated to enhance Taiwan’s asymmetric warfare capabilities.
Erroneous interpretation 3: The Taiwan Fellowship Program will allow US officials to be assigned to the Executive Yuan and the Legislative Yuan to interfere in Taiwan’s domestic affairs, which is tantamount to yielding authority and bringing humiliation upon the nation.
The Taiwan Fellowship Program is to be established by the US administration as stipulated in the Taiwan Fellowship Act, which was introduced in March 2021 by multiple members of the US Senate and House of Representatives from both parties. The idea stems from the Mansfield Fellowship Program that has been in place between the United States and Japan since 1994. Similar arrangements under the Taiwan Fellowship Program are expected to create opportunities for US officials to study and receive training in Taiwan in order to better understand Taiwan and forge friendships with Taiwanese government officials and members of various sectors, paving the way for stronger bilateral strategic partnerships. According to the official website of the Mansfield Fellowship Program, fellows are selected each year from various US government agencies, including those with professional expertise in such areas as public health, energy, commerce, education, military affairs, and space science.
According to the NDAA 2023, selected US officials will spend up to two years in Taiwan, focusing on learning Mandarin in the first year and training at a Taiwanese government agency related to their professional background in the second year. They will not serve long-term assignments in Taiwan. In addition, after legislation for this program is completed, the United States must draw up internal plans covering such details as the selection of an implementing agency, fund allocation, and schedules before commencing formal discussions with Taiwan. The competent Taiwanese agencies will then assess whether to accept the US plans. It is thus absolutely out of the question that any fellow could interfere in Taiwan’s internal affairs.