US President Joe Biden and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday emphasized the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait in a joint statement issued after the two leaders met at the White House in Washington.
The US and Italy “are firmly committed to a free, open, prosperous, inclusive and secure Indo-Pacific” region, the statement said, while reiterating “the vital importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”
The US welcomed Italy’s increased presence in the region, adding that it would work with Italy to “strengthen bilateral and multilateral consultations on the opportunities and challenges posed by the People’s Republic of China,” the statement said.
Photo: AP
They also condemned Russia’s illegal aggression against Ukraine, vowing to “continue to provide political, military, financial and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
Other topics discussed during the meeting included security and illegal immigration in the Mediterranean region, Africa and the western Balkans, as well as climate change, key minerals, cybersecurity, free and fair trade, space cooperation, and scientific and technological research and development, the statement said.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked the two nations for the statement, adding that safeguarding peace and stability is a strong consensus around the globe.
Separately, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024 was passed by the US Senate on Thursday.
It calls for a military training program for Taiwan’s armed forces.
The US Senate adopted 121 of more than 900 amendments considered and passed the act with a bipartisan vote of 86-11, the US Senate Committee on Armed Services said in a statement.
The act stipulates that the US secretary of defense, with the concurrence of US secretary of state and in consultation with appropriate officials in Taiwan, shall establish “a comprehensive training, advising, and institutional capacity building program for the military forces of Taiwan.”
The program is to “enable a layered defense of Taiwan by the military forces of Taiwan, including in support of the use of an asymmetric defense strategy,” it says.
It should also help enhance interoperability and encourage information sharing between military forces on both sides, it adds.
The program should include efforts to help Taiwan improve its tactical proficiency, operational deployment, reform and integration of reserve military forces, use of defense articles and services provided by the US, and defensive cybercapabilities and practices, it says.
A separate section of the act calls for military cybersecurity cooperation with Taiwan, such as through efforts to defend military networks, infrastructure and systems; eradicate malicious cyberactivity; and conduct combined cybersecurity training activities and exercises.
The act also requests the US secretary of defense and chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff to complete “a comprehensive analysis of the risks and implications of a sustained military blockade of Taiwan by the People’s Republic of China.”
As the US House of Representatives passed its own version of the NDAA on July 15, the two chambers are to negotiate a reconciliation of the act.
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