2024-03-23 13:14:32
As the government shuts down, the U.S. Senate passes a 1.2 trillion budget bill
23.03.2024
The U.S. Senate passed a $1.2 trillion budget bill for this fiscal year, averting a federal government shutdown. However, Democrats and Republicans still have clear differences on foreign aid and immigration measures.
(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) The U.S. Senate passed a $1.2 trillion budget bill for this fiscal year, avoiding a federal government shutdown.
In the early hours of Saturday (March 23), well past the midnight deadline, the bill passed with a vote of 74:24. Next, the bill will go to President Biden to sign into law.
The bill includesDepartment of DefenseHomeland Security, Treasury and State Department are providing funding until September 30.
Breakthrough Before Midnight
Three-quarters of U.S. federal government departments were on the verge of running out of funds ahead of the midnight deadline for passage of the bill. In the past six months, government departments have relied on temporary funding measures to support operations.
Concerns regarding a short-term government shutdown intensified late Friday as Republicans and Democrats sparred over proposed amendments to the bill.
But shortly before midnight, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced a breakthrough.
“It’s been a long, hard day, but we just reached a deal and finished the job of funding the government,” Schumer said. “It won’t be easy, but tonight our persistence will be worth it.”
Republican Senator Susan Collins, one of the key negotiators, said: “This legislation is truly a national security bill – 70 percent of the funding in this package goes to our defense, including… Investment from our closest allies.”
Differences between the two parties remain clear
Previously, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson used Democratic votes to advance the package to the Senate, angering the right wing of his own party.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene threatened to hold a vote to oust Johnson for allowing the bill to pass. Green later said: “I filed a motion to oust today. But it was more of a warning than a pink slip.”
The Republican-led House ignored another Senate-passed bill, the foreign aid omnibus bill, which included support forUkraine, Taiwan and Israel’s military assistance. The funding proposed in this bill was not included in the budget bill that was passed this time.
Total U.S. arms sales to Taiwan hit record high in 2020
Another arms sale at the end of the year
Reuters reported that the United States this week announced a $280 million “field information and communication system” arms sale to Taiwan to help Taiwan modernize its military and strengthen its defense capabilities. This is the sixth arms sale by the United States to Taiwan this year. At a regular press conference on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying urged the United States to stop arms sales to Taiwan and any military ties between the United States and Taiwan. She said that the United States sells weapons and equipment to Taiwan. It seriously violated the one-China principle and the provisions of the three Sino-US joint communiques, and seriously damaged Sino-US relations. (The picture shows the information picture of the Phantom fighter)
Total U.S. arms sales to Taiwan hit record high in 2020
The largest buyers of U.S. foreign military sales in 2020
On November 28, William Brent Christensen, Director of the Taipei Office of the American Institute in Taiwan, attended a seminar in Taiwan and claimed that Taiwan is already recognized as the world’s largest purchaser of U.S. weapons and that the U.S. plans to target Taiwan this year. Arms sales totaled US$11.8 billion, the highest annual defense procurement in Taiwan’s history. He emphasized that U.S. arms sales to Taiwan have received bipartisan support in the United States, and these arms sales are critical to Taiwan’s improvement of its “asymmetric combat capabilities.” He also revealed that looking at 2021, the U.S. government has notified Congress of US$5.2 billion in arms sales to Taiwan.
Total U.S. arms sales to Taiwan hit record high in 2020
Taipei responds cautiously
On November 29, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense responded to Li Yingjie’s statement. The statement pointed out that the sale of defensive weapons by the United States to Taiwan will help strengthen the overall defense capabilities and ensure peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region. The Ministry of National Defense expressed its gratitude. But at the same time, the statement also emphasized that there are no plans to add a major arms purchase project of US$5.2 billion to the United States next year. (The picture shows Taiwan Air Force file photo)
Total U.S. arms sales to Taiwan hit record high in 2020
Arms sales have been frequent during Trump’s term
On October 26, Washington announced the fourth wave of arms sales to Taiwan in 2020, stating that the U.S. State Department had approved the sale of 100 Harpoon anti-ship missiles to Taiwan. According to Taiwan’s Central News Agency, the arms sales transaction totaled US$2.37 billion. The Harpoon Coastal Defense System (HCDS) has a range of between 200 and 300 kilometers and can attack coastal, harbor and land targets. It is in line with Taiwan’s demands for mobile and asymmetric combat power in recent years. This is also the ninth arms sales to Taiwan since US President Trump took office.
Total U.S. arms sales to Taiwan hit record high in 2020
Over 40 years, there have been hundreds of arms sales to Taiwan
The United States’ arms sales to Taiwan originated from the “Taiwan Relations Act” enacted following the United States severed diplomatic relations with Taipei in 1979 and established diplomatic relations with Beijing. After withdrawing U.S. troops stationed in Taiwan, the United States began to provide Taiwan with defensive military weapons in accordance with this law. According to a memorandum established by then-President Ronald Reagan in 1982, the performance and quantity of weapons provided by the United States to Taiwan “depend on the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party.”
Total U.S. arms sales to Taiwan hit record high in 2020
The iconic F16 fighter jet
Among the previous arms sales to Taiwan over the past few decades, one of the most eye-catching advanced weapons is the US F16 fighter jet. This is a light fighter developed by Lockheed Martin. It is classified as a fourth-generation fighter in terms of fighter generation. It is also the most produced type among the fourth-generation fighters. Taipei began requesting the purchase of such advanced fighter jets from the United States in the 1970s, but it was not until the 1990s that a deal was reached. In 1997, the first batch of F16 fighter jets purchased by Taiwan were delivered. Since then, this series of fighters has undergone many upgrades and replacements, and the flight training and technical support provided by the United States are also included in the arms sales transaction.
Total U.S. arms sales to Taiwan hit record high in 2020
Keelung class destroyer
The Kidd class destroyers are retired missile destroyers of the U.S. Navy. From 2005 to 2006, the U.S. Navy successively handed over a total of four destroyers in this series to the Taiwan Navy and renamed them Keelung-class destroyers. The picture shows Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen inspecting the ship in 2018.
Total U.S. arms sales to Taiwan hit record high in 2020
patriot missile
The Patriot missile is a medium-range surface-to-air missile system manufactured by the American Raytheon Company. The system became famous following successfully intercepting Scud missiles launched by the Iraqi army during the Gulf War. This representative US military weapon has been upgraded many times since the 1990s. Since the 1990s, Taiwan has purchased Patriot missiles from the United States many times. The U.S. arms sales to Taiwan reached in July 2020 also included the replacement, maintenance, testing and logistics support of Patriot III missile components.
Total U.S. arms sales to Taiwan hit record high in 2020
Build Taiwan into a “fortress”
In recent years, with the continuous growth of China’s military equipment and the increasingly tense relations between the United States and China, the types of weapons sold by the United States to Taiwan have also changed. Derek Grossman, a researcher at the US Rand Corporation, said in an interview with Deutsche Welle in mid-October: “The United States has sold many different types of weapons to Taiwan in the past, sometimes weapons that can enhance Taiwan’s asymmetric defense capabilities. , sometimes with iconic weapons like F-16 fighter jets. But now the U.S. military aid policy toward Taiwan seems to have made a clear adjustment.” He believes that in order to prevent China from invading Taiwan through amphibious landings, the United States We must help Taiwan become an “indestructible fortress.”
Total U.S. arms sales to Taiwan hit record high in 2020
How does Beijing respond?
Historically, U.S. arms sales to Taiwan have aroused opposition from Beijing, but in most cases these were limited to verbal protests. On October 26, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian stated at a regular press conference that China would impose sanctions on U.S. companies and individuals such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing Defense, and Raytheon that were involved in last week’s arms sales to Taiwan. In fact, Lockheed Martin rarely does business with China and has been providing weapons and defense equipment to Taiwan for many years. However, if China imposes sanctions on Boeing, it might hit it hard as the company also sells commercial aircraft to China.
Republican hard-liners believe the foreign aid omnibus bill is too expensive. Republican Senator Rand Paul called it “reckless” and warned it would lead to inflation. They also dispute that the bill does not include the tougher border security provisions they demand.
Former President Trump has made immigration a top domestic campaign issue in the upcoming November presidential election.
(AP, Reuters, AFP)
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