US senator submits bill to boost Taiwan's military capabilities amid China tensions

Amid Beijing's growing military aggression, a US senator has introduced the Arm Taiwan Act of 2021 to strengthen Taiwan's defences against a possible Chinese invasion.

The legislation calls for allocating USD 3 billion annually for a new Taiwan Security Assistance Initiative to accelerate Taiwan's deployment of asymmetric defence capabilities.

It also conditions future conventional arms sales on Taiwan's progress preparing its military and fielding the weapons required to defeat China's war plans.

"Taiwan is in grave danger, but the future is not yet written," said Senator Hawley, who is a member of Senate Armed Services Committee. "The Arm Taiwan Act will ensure Taiwan has the asymmetric defences it needs to deter a Chinese invasion - so long as Taiwan is prepared to make the difficult choices required to defend itself in the hard years ahead.

"We should do everything in our power to help Taiwan urgently strengthen its defences. If China's recent actions have shown the world anything, it's that Beijing will stop at nothing in its quest to dominate the Indo-Pacific and then the world. We must not let them succeed."

The Arm Taiwan Act of 2021 comes amidst a surge in Chinese military threats and warnings by the US and Taiwanese officials that China may try to invade Taiwan in the next few years.

Experts believe that the military balance in the Taiwan Strait is rapidly deteriorating. As a result, there is growing concern that China may conclude that it can, or actually be able to, invade and seize control of Taiwan by the late 2020s.

Taiwan on Tuesday said it will boost the training of reserve forces by 2022 amid increasing Chinese military activities near the island in recent times.

This comes as Taiwan has been witnessing an increase in incursions as Beijing claims full sovereignty over the democratic island. Back in October, Taiwanese Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng had said that Beijing might consider mounting a full-scale invasion of the island by 2025.

( With inputs from ANI )