U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday signed into law an $886 billion defense policy package including measures to counter Chinese military activity in the Indo-Pacific region and assist the Taiwanese forces.
The National Defense Authorization Act for the fiscal year to September 2024 includes $14.7 billion for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, part of U.S. efforts to enhance military capabilities through drills with its allies and partner countries in the region.
While mentioning the need for a comprehensive training and capacity-building program for Taiwan's military, the law requires U.S. cooperation on the self-ruled democratic island's bid to strengthen military cybersecurity activities.
It also gave the green light for a plan to sell nuclear-powered submarines to Australia under the so-called AUKUS trilateral partnership also involving Britain.
Biden said in a statement that the act "provides the critical authorities we need to build the military required to deter future conflicts, while supporting service members and their spouses and families who carry out that mission every day."
The bill cleared the Senate and the House of Representatives, respectively, last week.
To continue helping Ukraine to repel the Russian invasion that began in February 2022, the law enables the United States to extend its current program for the purchase of weapons and equipment from the defense industry to the end of 2026.
A 5.2 percent pay raise for service members and civilian workers was approved in the law.
The United States and China reported close-call incidents between their military aircraft and vessels in the South China Sea earlier this year.
China and Taiwan have been governed separately since they split in 1949 following a civil war. Beijing regards the island as a renegade province to be united with the mainland by force if necessary.
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