US President Joe Biden’s administration plans to send $500 million in military aid to Taiwan, using the same emergency prerogative that has been used more than 35 times for Ukraine, a source familiar with the plan said on Friday.

Taiwanese soldiersPhoto: Walid Berrazeg / Zuma Press / Profimedia Images

“As part of the 2023 budget, Congress authorized up to $1 billion in arms to Taiwan through a Presidential Discontinuance Authority (PDA), a type of authority that fast-tracks security assistance that was used to send weapons to Ukraine.

The prerogative, which authorizes the president to transfer goods and services from US stockpiles without congressional approval during an emergency, would be the first of a billion-dollar authorization.

China considers democratically-ruled Taiwan its own territory and has increased military pressure on the island over the past three years and has never shied away from using force to bring the island under its control. Last month, China conducted military maneuvers around Taiwan after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles.

In February, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee that he intended to use the withdrawal authority, a Pentagon spokesman said on Friday. A spokesman declined to comment on whether the US would provide a $500 million aid package. “Our approach remains consistent with long-standing US policy… We are working hard to meet our obligations under the TRA (Taiwan Relations Act) and will continue to do so,” the spokesman said.

Since 1979, US-Taiwan relations have been governed by the TRA, which provides a legal basis for providing Taiwan with means of self-defense, but does not obligate the US to come to Taiwan’s aid in the event of an attack.

It’s unclear when it will be delivered or what the Taiwan aid package, first reported by Bloomberg, will include.

Since last year, Taiwan has been complaining about delays in the supply of US weapons, such as Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, as manufacturers diverted supplies to Ukraine. A question that worried some American congressmen.

Taiwan’s Defense Minister Chiu Kuo Chen said Thursday that the delivery of 66 new, advanced F-16V fighter jets from the United States has been delayed due to disruptions in the supply chain. (Reuters)