Analysis-How a U.S. budget dispute imperils funding for Taiwan weapons
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[February 22, 2023]
By Patricia Zengerle and Michael Martina
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. congressional efforts to counter China's
military threats toward Taiwan could stumble over a problem much closer
to home: partisan battles in Washington imperiling billions of dollars
in security assistance for the self-governed island.
Last year, both the Senate and House of Representatives voted
overwhelmingly for a defense policy bill authorizing up to $10 billion
in security assistance and fast-tracked weapons procurement for Taiwan.
That money was to be given in $2 billion annual installments of Foreign
Military Financing, or FMF, grants over five years.
But the plan was stymied by disagreement over spending.
An appropriations bill passed in late December included only loans for
Taiwan that must be paid back within 12 years, not the grant plan,
alarming some members of Congress who fear it will delay money Taiwan
needs urgently to prepare for any attack by China.
"We need to find (the money). National security is the most important
responsibility of the federal government," Senator Todd Young, a
Republican member of the Foreign Relations Committee, told Reuters after
a recent visit to Taipei.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Feb/22/images/ads/current/heartland_lda_020123.png)
Lawmakers said they are watching to see whether the Biden administration
includes FMF grants for Taiwan in its budget request for the fiscal year
ending in September 2024, which they expect from the White House around
March 9.
Some wrote the president last week asking him to include the money in
his request
FUNDING WOES
Anxiety about China's growing military strength has become a rare point
of bipartisan agreement in Washington. Lawmakers are especially focused
on the fate of Taiwan, the democratically governed island Beijing
considers a breakaway province.
The United States has no formal ties with Taiwan but is bound by law to
help provide it with the means to defend itself.
Among both Democratic and Republican leadership there is broad consensus
that the United States needs to increase its military aid sharply.
"If we are serious about advancing U.S. interests in Asia and competing
with (China), we must match ambitious policy with ambitious resourcing,"
said Senator Bob Menendez, the Democratic chairman of the Foreign
Relations Committee.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Feb/22/images/ads/current/charrons_bch_2022.png)
There is less agreement about where to find that money, especially as a
showdown looms between House Republicans and Biden's Democrats over the
federal debt ceiling.
FMF is part of the State Department's foreign aid budget, which many
Republicans want to cut. Democrats say giving the grants to Taiwan would
require cuts to humanitarian assistance programs.
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![](../images/022223PIX/news_s9.jpg)
Taiwan's armed forces hold two days of
routine drills to show combat readiness ahead of Lunar New Year
holidays at a military base in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, January 11, 2023.
REUTERS/Ann Wang
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2019/Sep/05/images/ads/current/stclara_lda_SPONSOR_090519.png)
Republicans accused Biden's administration of failing to advocate
strongly enough for the Taiwan grants, given that his fellow
Democrats controlled both the Senate and House last year.
"Securing FMF funding is always a challenge given the tight budget
constraints, even for priority partners like Taiwan," said Eric Lee
of the Project 2049 Institute think tank.
PORCUPINE STRATEGY
U.S. officials have been pushing Taiwan to create an asymmetric
"porcupine" defense to protect itself with mines and anti-aircraft
and anti-ship missiles, rather than submarines, heavy tanks and F-16
aircraft, which military analysts warn could be destroyed in a first
attack by China.
Analysts say Taiwan's political leadership has largely accepted the
need to shift to the defensive strategy - especially after seeing
Ukraine's success against Russia - but that lingering resistance
within its defense establishment has slowed implementation.
Those pushing Taiwan funding point to several reasons to approve
grants and not loans. First, grants can be deployed quickly,
avoiding the long process of applying for and securing loans.
Taiwan's government also historically has resisted foreign loans,
which experts note could appear to some Taiwanese voters as the
United States profiting from the island's security predicament.
"I would prefer to see a revival of FMF grants, but with clear
strings attached," said Michael Hunzeker, a Taiwan military expert
at George Mason University.
Grants to buy specific weapons could be made on condition of Taiwan
showing further moves toward asymmetric defense, he said.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Feb/22/images/ads/current/ldn_sda_NILA_012823.png)
"When we give a country the money to buy weapons, we have more
influence over what they buy," one congressional aide said,
requesting anonymity to speak freely about what can be delicate
negotiations.
Some supporters of the grants remain optimistic. "Many key members
in both parties of Congress are now supporting (grants for Taiwan),
which shows how far we have come," said Eric Sayers, an Asia policy
expert and non-resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute,
adding that it Is possible Congress will revive the effort this
year.
"If this is an urgent issue and conflict over Taiwan is as serious
to U.S. interests as we all now agree, then all options, including
grants, need to be on the table."
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Michael Martina; Editing by Don
Durfee and Daniel Wallis)
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