DEFENSE/U.S. announces largest-ever US$567 million military aid package for Taiwan

Taipei, Sept. 30 (CNA) The United States on Sunday announced a US$567 million military aid package for Taiwan to be delivered under a Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), the largest such package to date.

The PDA is a process under which the U.S. can send equipment and weapons from existing stocks to its allied partners in crises. In July 2023, the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden authorized the first US$345 million in defense articles and services to Taiwan under the presidential drawdown.

In a statement, the White House said Biden has delegated the secretary of state to "direct the drawdown of up to US$567 million in defense articles and services of the Department of Defense, and military education and training, to provide assistance to Taiwan."

The statement, however, did not provide specific details about this latest package.

According to a Defense News report published on Sept. 21, an unnamed U.S. official was quoted saying the package will "fund training, stockpiles, anti-armor weapons, air defense and multi-domain awareness."

It will also include drones, which are key to America and Taiwan's "asymmetric" strategy to defend the island against China's much larger military, the report said.

The Pentagon is currently working on a third aid package for Taiwan, and that the Biden administration plans to complete it before the end of its term in January next year, according to the report.