New U.S. bill seeks 'NATO Plus' status for Taiwan

Washington, May 21 (CNA) U.S. Congress members Rick Scott and Scott Perry introduced a new bill on Wednesday, seeking to designate Taiwan as a "NATO Plus" partner of the United States to facilitate easier and faster arms sales.

The bill, introduced by Republican Senator Scott of Florida, states that Taiwan should be designated as a "NATO Plus" partner so that it may enjoy the same privileges as Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Israel.

"The Taiwan PLUS Act will cut red tape and make it faster and easier for Taiwan to purchase the weapons it needs from the U.S. to defend itself should Communist China invade," Scott said in a statement.

In a separate statement released Wednesday, Republican House Representative Perry of Pennsylvania also said such a designation would elevate Taiwan to "the same status as trusted U.S. defense partners like Australia, Israel and Japan."

"Taiwan already is one of the United States' closest defense collaborators -- the top Foreign Military Sales customer in FY20, and historically tied with Japan as the third largest buyer since 1950," Perry said.

The bill was proposed on the same day that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said reforms to the Foreign Military Sales program were needed to address delays in sales and financing deals.

"We get so many complaints," Rubio said during a Congressional hearing on Wednesday. "Every bilateral engagement we have is someone complaining about some sale or even a financing deal that has been in place for five years and has not yet been delivered or has not yet been approved through the process."

One of the leading priorities of the current U.S. administration is to reform the government program that facilitates arms sales to foreign countries and international organizations, he said, during the hearing on the State Department's 2026 budget request.

Last week, two U.S. senators -- Republican Pete Ricketts of Nebraska and Democrat Chris Coons of Delaware -- made the first proposal for legislation to include Taiwan in the NATO Plus category.

"Our antiquated arms sales process and struggling defense industrial base have prevented Taiwan from getting the weapons it needs in a timely manner," Ricketts said in a statement on the bill titled Providing Our Regional Companions Upgraded Protections in Nefarious Environments Act, or PORCUPINE Act.