Taipei Times
Date: Sep 22, 2017
By: Aaron Tu and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The nation’s military is hopeful that Taiwan-US military cooperation will proceed apace if the US Congress passes the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2018, sources at the Ministry of National Defense said.

The US House of Representatives and the Senate have each passed a version of the bill and the two chambers still have to iron out their differences before the final bill can be forwarded for ratification by US President Donald Trump.

According to the bill, the US secretary of defense is to report to US congressional committees no later than Sept. 1 next year on the “feasibility and advisability” of the US Navy making port calls in Taiwan and of the Taiwanese navy the same in US territories.

The proposed bill would place certain obligations on the US to support Taiwan’s undersea warfare capabilities and invite its military to observe maneuvers.
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