U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee Advances Annual Defense Bill with Pro-Taiwan Measures
On July 9, the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee approved the $925 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026, which includes several pro-Taiwan provisions aimed at strengthening Taiwan’s security and defense capabilities.
Implications: The bill reflects growing bipartisan concern over China’s expanding military threat and reinforces the United States’ deepening security commitment to Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific.
Background: The progression of the NDAA language on Taiwan’s participation in RIMPAC reflects a shift from symbolic endorsement to increased pressure with accountability. In the FY 2022 NDAA, it was the sense of Congress that Taiwan “should be invited,” a nonbinding expression of support. The FY 2024 version went further by directing the Department of Defense to issue an invitation, yet Taiwan was still excluded from RIMPAC in 2024. The FY 2026 NDAA strengthens the language by not only “strongly encouraging” an invitation but also requiring the Pentagon to publicly justify any decision to exclude Taiwan. This added clause signals growing bipartisan support by Congress to compel transparency and push the executive branch to treat defense cooperation with Taiwan as more than just rhetorical support.
The NDAA is the annual legislation that sets funding levels and policy priorities for the U.S. military. The bill strongly encourages Taiwan’s participation in world’s largest naval exercise and expands bilateral cooperation in cyber defense and unmanned systems, both of which are central to Taiwan’s asymmetric defense strategy.
RIMPAC: Hosted every two years by the U.S. Navy, the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) is the world’s largest naval exercise. In 2024, ships and personnel from 29 countries participated. Taiwan has never been invited, though Congress has repeatedly called for its inclusion.
The FY 2026 NDAA includes a Taiwan provision that “strongly encourages” the Secretary of Defense to invite Taiwan’s Navy to participate in the 2026 RIMPAC exercise and requires a notification and justification if Taiwan is not included.
Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative: The bill also authorizes $1 billion for the initiative in the next fiscal year, a sharp increase from this year’s $300 million, to help strengthen Taiwan’s defense capabilities, training, and combat casualty care.
The bill further authorizes two joint U.S.-Taiwan projects: one to co-develop and produce uncrewed and counter-uncrewed systems, and another to strengthen Taiwan’s digital infrastructure.
Drone Supply Chain: Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te and Defense Minister Wellington Koo have repeatedly expressed Taiwan’s readiness to work with the U.S. on building a “non-red” supply chain — one free from the influence of authoritarian China. The goal is to strengthen manufacturing networks among democratic partners, including those involved in drone production. Both Taiwan and the United States view unmanned systems as critical to deterring Chinese aggression.
Digital Infrastructure: Cyberattacks against Taiwan — most of which originate from China — have grown exponentially in the past few years. In January, Taiwan announced that 2024 saw a record number of cyberattacks against government targets, with an average of 2.4 million attacks per day.
The bill must now pass both the full Senate and the House before it can be signed into law by the U.S. President.
Sources:
[1] U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services
[2] Focus Taiwan
[3] Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET)
[4] Taipei Times
Japan’s 2025 Defense White Paper Highlights Rising Chinese “Gray Zone” Activities Near Taiwan
On July 15, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani released the 2025 edition of Japan’s defense white paper, which for the first time raised alarms over China’s escalating “gray zone” activities around Taiwan, the increased coordination between the Chinese Coast Guard and military, and the expanding scope of Beijing’s joint air and sea blockade exercises.
Why it matters: Japan’s growing attention to cross-strait tensions signals its view that Chinese aggression toward Taiwan is no longer merely a bilateral issue, but a high-stakes challenge with serious implications for regional stability in the Indo-Pacific.
The white paper warns that “the overall military balance between China and Taiwan is rapidly tilting in China’s favor,” and that Beijing has intensified its military activities to enhance real-world combat capabilities. The document urges allies and like-minded partners to bolster their preparedness.
Key details: Published annually by Japan’s Ministry of Defense, the white paper outlines strategic priorities and highlights key areas of concern in Japan’s national security. The 2025 edition highlights the expansion of China Coast Guard (CCG) operations around Taiwan in 2024, including patrols east of the island in May and October — part of a broader pattern of gray zone pressure short of open military conflict.
Japan also warns of intensified People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy and Air Force operations near its territory, including the first-ever airspace incursion off Nagasaki by Chinese military aircraft in last August, and the Liaoning aircraft carrier’s transit between the Yonaguni and Iriomote Islands of Okinawa Prefecture in September.
The white paper refers to these developments as China’s “unilateral changes to the status quo by force.” It also describes them as “unprecedented” and Japan’s “greatest strategic challenge,” urging a response through comprehensive national power and international cooperation.
Growing Alignment: Earlier this April, Admiral Samuel Paparo, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, told Congress that the PLA’s growing multi-domain pressure on Taiwan poses an “evolving challenge to regional stability.” Japan’s latest defense white paper echoes this view, underscoring Tokyo’s deepening alignment with U.S. policy.