TAIPEI: A$ 8 billion defense package approved by the US House of Representatives over the weekend will “strengthen the deterrence against authoritarianism in the West Pacific ally chain, ” Taiwan’s President-elect Lai Ching-te said Tuesday, in a reference to key rival China.
At a conference held at the Presidential Office Building in the investment Taipei, Lai, the current vice president of Taiwan, told attendees Lisa McClain, a Republican, and Democrat Dan Kildee, that the money would help maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and even increase confidence in the region.
In the face of “authoritarian expansionism, ” Taiwan is “determined to prevent democracy and also prevent our land,” Lai said.
Also known as William Lai, a former US health researcher, is hated by Beijing for opposing political integration with the island. In recent votes, the pro-unification Nationalists won a small majority in the legislature, but their impact on foreign policy and additional federal concerns remains limited.
The Senate will vote Tuesday on$ 95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
The package includes a variety of components and services intended to keep Taiwan’s military equipment operational. Separately, Taiwan has signed billion in deals with the US for latest-generation F-16V fighter jets, M1 Abrams primary war tanks and the HIMARS jet structure, which the us has also supplied to Ukraine.
Taiwan has also been expanding its own security sector by building ships and training planes. Next month, it intends to put together its third and fourth cunning corvettes, both of which were domestically built and built, to fight the Taiwanese army. as part of an irregular battle strategy where a smaller force uses cutting-edge or unconventional tactics and tools to defeat a larger opponent.
Lai, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party, which supports independent rule, won the election in January with great success and succeeds Tsai Ing-wen as leader next fortnight. Beijing has been trying to isolate him for the past eight years.
China has been promoting the danger with regular incursions into Taiwan’s waters and airspace by military ships and warplanes, and it is determined to forcefully annex the isle, which it considers its own territory. Additionally, it has made an effort to remove Taiwan’s some remaining official political lovers.
McClain stressed that the strength of the relationship must be observed by everyone, even though Washington and Taipei do not formalize political relations in accordance with Beijing.
“Peace is our purpose. But to do that, we have to have connections and we value your marriage. Not just physically, but commercially, ” she said.
Given the recent passing of the funding costs to provide “very critical help to safeguard security in this region, ” Kildee said the scheduling of the visit was particularly important. ”
” It’s important for the people of Taiwan, it ’s important for the people in the United States, it ’s important for the entire world, ” Kildee said.
