The logo of United States media “Defense News”
United States media “Defense News” reported on 20/09 that United States is in the final stage of providing nearly US$567 million (about NT$18.13 billion) in military aid to Taiwan, which is the largest such aid plan to date. The Pentagon is also planning a third batch of aid to Taiwan, which the government plans to complete by the end of its term in January.
“Defense News”, citing a number of congressional aides and a United States official, reported that the Biden administration will use the fastest tools available to provide assistance, that is, direct delivery of US military stockpiles, and the United States’ support for Ukraine’s self-defense is also based on this. The US$567 million plan has already been approved by the Pentagon and is currently awaiting the president’s signature.
This amount is almost double which the last year’s aid was US$345 million.
An aide and an official revealed that Biden could approve the unreported military aid before the end of the fiscal year at the end of this month.
A United States official, who declined to provide more specifics, said the security assistance would fund training, stockpiles, anti-armor weapons, air defense and multi-domain awareness, and would include drones, the key to asymmetric strategies.
The report pointed out that this ambiguity is a typical feature of aid to Taiwan, which is obviously different from aid to Ukraine. Because of its sensitivity, the United States rarely discusses this topic in detail. Neither the Pentagon nor the National Security Council would comment on the matter, saying only that under the government’s longstanding policy, United States had the right to support Taiwan self-defense.
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO) also did not comment, saying only that Taiwan will continue to strengthen its defense capabilities and work closely with United States to actively maintain peace, stability and prosperity in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region.
To accelerate support for Taiwan, the United States Congress authorized the administration to provide Taiwan with up to $1 billion worth of stockpiles each year, a more direct demonstration of support than previous arms sales. However, Congress has not provided an actual budget for the Department of Defense, and the Department of Defense has been reluctant to ship equipment that cannot be replaced.
“Defense News” noted that members of the State Department and the White House support another aid plan that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin suspended any further military aid to Taiwan without funding after debating the plan last year.
The funding was in place in April, when Congress appropriated $1.9 billion to backfill stockpiles United States shipments to Indo-Pacific countries, the report said. Since then, Defense Department departments have been planning how to spend the money, much of it for Taiwan.
According to multiple officials, the plan that is currently about to be approved has gone through several rounds of revisions. The Pentagon initially planned a smaller amount, but at an inter-ministerial meeting this summer, several senior officials argued that it needed to be raised, eventually reaching $567 million.
United States officials said the Pentagon is still working on a third aid package for Taiwan, which the administration plans to complete by the end of its term in January.
According to the report, the April bill of Congress requires the government to provide a further US$2 billion in long-term security assistance to the Indo-Pacific region, of which US$1.4 billion will be allocated to Taiwan, and was approved this summer, although it has never been made public.
In terms of normal arms sales, United States approved a new round of arms sales this week, increasing the IS$19 billion in arms sales currently awaiting United States delivery in Taiwan by US$228 million.
The U.S. Department of Defense Office of Inspector General recently released a report severely criticizing the first batch of military aid last year. The content noted that transportation problems caused by the United States military caused aid to arrive in Taiwan later than expected, overgrown with mold, and some even expired. To resolve these issues, the parties spent another US$730,000.
“More broadly, the delivery of mission-incapable armaments will limit the Department of Defense’s ability to achieve its goal of establishing security cooperation and may lead to a loss of confidence in the United States,” the inspector general said in the report.
美國媒體於20日報導，美國正處於向台灣提供近5.67億美元（約新台幣181.3億元）軍事援助的最後階段，這是迄今為止規模最大的援助計畫。五角大廈目前正在制定對台灣的第三批援助，計劃在1月的任期結束前完成。
根據美國《國防新聞》報導，多位國會幕僚及一名官員透露，拜登政府將利用現有的最快方式提供援助，即直接運送美軍庫存，這也是美國支持烏克蘭自衛的主要方式。這項5.67億美元的計畫已獲得五角大廈批准，僅待總統簽署。
這筆軍援金額幾乎是去年3.45億美元援助的兩倍。
一名幕僚和一名官員表示，拜登可能會在本月底會計年度結束前批准這項尚未公開的軍援。
一位不願透露更多具體資訊的美國官員指出，這項安全援助將用於訓練、庫存、反裝甲武器、防空及多領域態勢感知（multi-domain awareness），還將包括無人機，這是實現不對稱戰略的關鍵。
報導指出，這種模糊性是對台援助的典型特徵，與對烏克蘭的援助明顯不同。由於此議題的敏感性，美國很少詳細討論相關內容。五角大廈及國家安全會議對此事不願發表評論，只表示根據政府的長期政策，美國有權支持台灣自衛。
台灣駐美代表處也未對此作出回應，只表示台灣將持續加強防衛能力，並與美國密切合作，積極維護台海及印太地區的和平、穩定與繁榮。
為了加快對台灣的支持，美國國會授權政府每年向台灣提供最多價值10億美元的庫存，這比以往的軍售方式更直接地表達了支持。然而，國會並未為國防部提供實際預算，國防部也一直不願運送無法替換的設備。
《國防新聞》指出，國務院和白宮成員支持另一項援助計畫，國防部長奧斯汀去年曾對該計畫進行辯論，但因缺乏經費而暫停了對台灣的進一步軍援。
報導提到，這筆經費於4月到位，當時國會撥款19億美元用於補充美國向印太國家運送的庫存。此後，國防部各部門一直在規劃如何使用這筆經費，其中大部分將用於台灣。
據多位官員透露，目前即將獲得批准的計畫經過幾輪修改。五角大廈最初規劃的金額較小，但在今年夏天的跨部會會議中，多位高階官員認為需要提高金額，最終達到5.67億美元。
美國官員表示，五角大廈目前仍在擬定對台的第三批援助計畫，政府計劃在1月的任期結束前完成。
報導稱，國會4月的法案要求政府向印太區域進一步提供20億美元的長期安全援助，其中14億美元將撥給台灣。
