Taiwan, U.S. military cooperation 'expanding': U.S. Congress report

Taipei, Aug. 5 (CNA) Military cooperation between the United States and Taiwan "appears to be expanding," according to a recent report by the U.S. Congressional Research Service (CRS).

In its July 25 report "Taiwan: Defense and Military Issues," the CRS described arms sales as "the most concrete U.S. contribution to Taiwan's defense capabilities," noting that the majority are conducted through the U.S. government's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) system.

Between 2015 and 2025, the U.S. executive branch notified Congress of over US$28 billion in weapons sales to Taiwan, the report said.

Moreover, the 117th U.S. Congress, which sat from January 2021 to January 2023, authorized new pathways for arms transfers under the Taiwan Enhanced Resilience Act, according to the CRS.

The act made presidential drawdown authority (PDA) available to Taiwan for the first time, allowing the U.S. Department of Defense to supply equipment and services directly from its inventory.

Since the law's enactment, the executive branch has announced three PDA packages for Taiwan totaling US$1.5 billion, the report stated.

Beyond weapons transfers, the report said U.S.-Taiwan security cooperation also includes training conducted both in Taiwan and the United States.

Although such cooperation is generally not widely publicized, it "appears to be expanding," the CRS stated, citing Taiwan's participation in the United States' International Military Education and Training (IMET) program since 2023.

From 2019 to 2023, Taiwan's defense budget grew at an average annual rate of nearly 5 percent, according to the report.

Despite the spending increases, the report said Taiwan faces challenges in achieving its defense goals, including disagreements among policymakers over how best to deter military threats from China.

It also pointed to difficulties Taiwan faces in military recruitment, training and retention, as well as concerns that civil defense efforts are insufficient.

"At a societal level, it is not clear what costs -- in terms of economic security, physical safety, and lives -- Taiwan's people would be willing or able to bear in the face of a cross-Strait war."

The report also pointed to "Taiwan's energy, food, water, communications, and other infrastructure" being vulnerable to external disruption.

Supervised by the Library of Congress, the CRS aims to provide U.S. lawmakers with nonpartisan research and policy analysis.