I 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6443 

To accelerate deployment by Taiwan of the asymmetric defense capabilities 

required to deter or, if necessary, defeat an invasion of Taiwan by 

the People’s Republic of China, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 20, 2022 

Mr. GALLAGHER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Armed 

Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To accelerate deployment by Taiwan of the asymmetric defense capabilities required to deter or, if necessary, defeat an invasion of Taiwan by the People’s Republic 

of China, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Arm Taiwan Act of 

5 2022’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find3 ings: 

4 (1) The Department of Defense has warned 

5 that the Government of the People’s Republic of 

6 China may conclude that it can successfully invade 

7 and seize control of Taiwan in the latter half of the 

8 2020s. 

9 (2) In October 2021, the Minister of National 

10 Defense of Taiwan, Chiu Kuo-cheng, echoed these 

11 warnings when he stated that the People’s Republic 

12 of China— 

13 (A) ‘‘is capable now’’ of invading Taiwan; 

14 and 

15 (B) will have ‘‘lowered the costs and 

16 losses’’ associated with invading Taiwan ‘‘to a 

17 minimum’’ after 2025. 

18 (3) If the People’s Republic of China were to 

19 invade and seize control of Taiwan, it would deal a 

20 severe blow to United States interests by— 

21 (A) destroying one of the world’s leading 

22 democracies; 

23 (B) casting doubt on the ability and re24 solve of the United States to uphold its security 

25 commitments; 


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1 (C) incentivizing other countries in the 

2 Indo-Pacific region to bandwagon with the Peo3 ple’s Republic of China; and 

4 (D) facilitating the formation of a regional 

5 order dominated by the People’s Republic of 

6 China in which the Government of the People’s 

7 Republic of China may— 

8 (i) regulate or otherwise limit the abil9 ity of individuals in the United States to 

10 trade in the Indo-Pacific region, which 

11 would have dire effects on the livelihoods 

12 and freedoms of such individuals; and 

13 (ii) use the Indo-Pacific region as a 

14 secure base from which to project military 

15 power into other regions, including the 

16 Western Hemisphere. 

17 (4) Taiwan’s proximity to the People’s Republic 

18 of China, coupled with investments by the People’s 

19 Republic of China in capabilities designed to delay 

20 intervention by the United States Armed Forces in 

21 support of Taiwan, means that Taiwan may be 

22 forced to delay, degrade, and deny an invasion by 

23 the People’s Republic of China with limited support 

24 from the United States Armed Forces for the initial 

25 days, weeks, or months of such an invasion. 


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1 (5) If Taiwan is unable to delay, degrade, and 

2 deny an invasion by the People’s Republic of China 

3 with limited support from the United States Armed 

4 Forces, especially in the initial period of war, then 

5 the People’s Republic of China may conclude that it 

6 is, or may actually be, capable of— 

7 (A) invading and seizing control of Taiwan 

8 before the United States or any other partner 

9 country of Taiwan is able to respond effectively, 

10 thereby achieving a fait accompli; and 

11 (B) potentially rendering any attempt by 

12 the United States or any other partner country 

13 of Taiwan to reverse territorial gains by the 

14 People’s Republic of China prohibitively dif15 ficult, costly, or both. 

16 (6) To defend itself effectively, especially in the 

17 initial period of war, it is imperative that Taiwan ac18 celerate deployment of cost-effective and resilient 

19 asymmetric defense capabilities, including mobile 

20 coastal and air defenses, naval mines, missile boats, 

21 man-portable anti-armor weapons, civil defense 

22 forces, and their enablers. 

23 (7) The deployment of such asymmetric defense 

24 capabilities by Taiwan would not only improve the 

25 ability of Taiwan to defend itself, but also reduce 


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1 operational risk to members of the United States 

2 Armed Forces under a Taiwan contingency. 

3 (8) The President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-Wen, 

4 has— 

5 (A) vowed to bolster the national defense 

6 of Taiwan and demonstrate Taiwan’s deter7 mination to defend itself so as to ensure that 

8 Taiwan will not be forced to take the path that 

9 the People’s Republic of China has laid out for 

10 Taiwan; and 

11 (B) advocated the deployment of asym12 metric defense capabilities. 

13 (9) The Government of Taiwan has begun tak14 ing steps to improve Taiwan’s defenses, including by 

15 increasing Taiwan’s defense budget and through 

16 Taiwan’s new proposed special defense budget, but 

17 far more is needed, and quickly, to ensure that Tai18 wan is able to maintain a sufficient self-defense ca19 pability. 

20 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con21 gress that— 

22 (1) the threat of an invasion of Taiwan by the 

23 People’s Republic of China is increasing rapidly and 

24 expected to reach especially dangerous levels by the 

25 latter half of the 2020s; 


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1 (2) the United States has a strong interest in 

2 preventing the People’s Republic of China from in3 vading and seizing control of Taiwan, especially by 

4 ensuring that Taiwan is able to maintain a sufficient 

5 self-defense capability; 

6 (3) the United States should establish a secu7 rity assistance initiative so as to accelerate, to the 

8 greatest extent possible, Taiwan’s deployment of 

9 cost-effective and resilient asymmetric defense capa10 bilities; 

11 (4) the United States should provide such as12 sistance on the condition that Taiwan— 

13 (A) matches investments by the United 

14 States in its asymmetric defense capabilities; 

15 (B) increases its defense spending to a 

16 level commensurate with the threat it faces; 

17 (C) prioritizes acquiring cost-effective and 

18 resilient asymmetric defense capabilities as rap19 idly as possible, including from foreign sup20 pliers, if necessary; and 

21 (D) demonstrates progress on defense re22 forms required to maximize the effectiveness of 

23 its asymmetric defenses, with special regard to 

24 Taiwan’s reserve forces; and 


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1 (5) in the course of executing such a security 

2 assistance initiative, the United States should— 

3 (A) seek to co-produce or co-develop cost4 effective and resilient asymmetric defense capa5 bilities with suppliers in Taiwan, including by 

6 providing incentives to that effect, so long as 

7 those suppliers can produce such capabilities at 

8 a reasonable cost, in the quantities required, as 

9 rapidly, and to the same quality and technical 

10 standards as suppliers in the United States or 

11 other countries; and 

12 (B) encourage other countries, particularly 

13 United States allies and partners, to sell, lease, 

14 or otherwise provide appropriate asymmetric 

15 defense capabilities to Taiwan so as to facilitate 

16 Taiwan’s rapid deployment of the asymmetric 

17 defense capabilities required to deter or, if nec18 essary, defeat an invasion by the People’s Re19 public of China. 

20 SEC. 3. TAIWAN SECURITY ASSISTANCE INITIATIVE. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense shall es22 tablish an initiative, to be known as the ‘‘Taiwan Security 

23 Assistance Initiative’’ (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Ini24 tiative’’), to accelerate Taiwan’s deployment of asym25 metric defense capabilities required to deter or, if necVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Jan 22, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6443.IH H6443

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1 essary, defeat an invasion by the People’s Republic of 

2 China. 

3 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

4 authorized to be appropriated $3,000,000,000 for the De5 partment of Defense for each of fiscal years 2023 through 

6 2027 to provide assistance to the Government of Taiwan 

7 under this section. 

8 (c) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense, in 

10 coordination with the Secretary of State, shall use 

11 the funds authorized to be appropriated under sub12 section (b) to provide assistance to the Government 

13 of Taiwan for the purpose described in subsection 

14 (d). 

15 (d) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Initiative is to 

16 provide assistance, including equipment, training, and 

17 other support, to the Government of Taiwan so as to accel18 erate Taiwan’s deployment of asymmetric defense capa19 bilities required to achieve, with limited support from the 

20 United States Armed Forces for the initial days, weeks, 

21 or months after the initiation of an invasion by the Peo22 ple’s Republic of China of Taiwan, the following objectives: 

23 (1) To delay, degrade, and deny attempts by 

24 People’s Liberation Army forces to enter or transit 

25 the Taiwan Strait and adjoining seas. 


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1 (2) To delay, degrade, and deny attempts by 

2 People’s Liberation Army forces to secure a 

3 lodgment on Taiwan and expand or otherwise use 

4 that lodgment to seize control of a population center 

5 or other key territory in Taiwan. 

6 (3) To prevent the People’s Republic of China 

7 from decapitating, seizing control of, or otherwise 

8 neutralizing or rendering ineffective the Government 

9 of Taiwan. 

10 (e) ASYMMETRIC DEFENSE CAPABILITIES.—In this 

11 section, the term ‘‘asymmetric defense capabilities’’ in12 cludes, in such quantities as the Secretary of Defense de13 termines to be necessary to achieve the purpose specified 

14 in subsection (d), the following: 

15 (1) Mobile, ground-based coastal defense cruise 

16 missiles and launchers. 

17 (2) Mobile, ground-based short-range and me18 dium-range air defense systems. 

19 (3) Smart, self-propelled naval mines and coast20 al minelaying platforms. 

21 (4) Missile boats and fast-attack craft equipped 

22 with anti-ship and anti-landing craft missiles. 

23 (5) Unmanned aerial and other mobile, resilient 

24 surveillance systems to support coastal and air de25 fense operations. 


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1 (6) Equipment to support target location, 

2 tracking, identification, and targeting, especially at 

3 the local level, in communications degraded or de4 nied environments. 

5 (7) Man-portable anti-armor weapons, mortars, 

6 and small arms for ground combat operations. 

7 (8) Equipment and technical assistance for the 

8 purpose of developing civil defense forces, composed 

9 of civilian volunteers and militia. 

10 (9) Training and equipment, including appro11 priate war reserves, required for Taiwan forces to 

12 independently maintain, sustain, and employ capa13 bilities described in paragraphs (1) through (8). 

14 (10) Concept development for coastal defense, 

15 air defense, decentralized command and control, civil 

16 defense, logistics, planning, and other critical mili17 tary functions, with an emphasis on operations in a 

18 communications degraded or denied environment. 

19 (11) Any other capability the Secretary of De20 fense considers appropriate for the purpose de21 scribed in subsection (d). 

22 (f) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.— 

23 (1) PLAN.—Not later than December 1, 2022, 

24 and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Defense, in 

25 coordination with the Secretary of State, shall subVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Jan 22, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6443.IH H6443

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1 mit to the appropriate committees of Congress a 

2 plan for using funds authorized to be appropriated 

3 under subsection (b) for the purpose specified in 

4 subsection (d). 

5 (2) INITIAL CERTIFICATION.—Amounts author6 ized to be appropriated under subsection (b) for fis7 cal year 2023 may not be obligated or expended 

8 until the date on which the Secretary of Defense, in 

9 coordination with the Secretary of State, certifies 

10 that the Government of Taiwan has committed— 

11 (A) to spending an equivalent amount on 

12 asymmetric defense capabilities in fiscal year 

13 2023; 

14 (B) to spending not less than two and a 

15 half percent of Taiwan’s national gross domes16 tic product on defense on an annual basis by 

17 the end of fiscal year 2025, and not less than 

18 three percent of Taiwan’s national gross domes19 tic product on defense on an annual basis by 

20 the end of fiscal year 2027, including expendi21 tures under the normal defense budget and any 

22 supplemental or special defense budgets of Tai23 wan; 

24 (C) to acquiring asymmetric defense capa25 bilities as rapidly as possible, including from 


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1 suppliers in the United States or other coun2 tries, if the Secretary of Defense determines 

3 that such suppliers will be able to provide such 

4 capabilities at a reasonable cost, in sufficient 

5 quantities, of sufficient quality and technical 

6 standards, and more rapidly than suppliers in 

7 Taiwan; and 

8 (D) to undertaking the defense reforms re9 quired to maximize the effectiveness of an 

10 asymmetric defense against an invasion by the 

11 People’s Republic of China, including by im12 proving organization, mobilization, and training 

13 of the reserve forces and other military per14 sonnel of Taiwan. 

15 (3) SUBSEQUENT CERTIFICATIONS.—Amounts 

16 authorized to be appropriated under subsection (b) 

17 for each of fiscal years 2024, 2025, 2026, and 2027 

18 may not be obligated or expended until the date on 

19 which the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with 

20 the Secretary of State, certifies that the Government 

21 of Taiwan has committed— 

22 (A) to spending an equivalent amount on 

23 asymmetric defense capabilities in the applica24 ble fiscal year and upheld its commitment to 

25 spend an equivalent amount as the United 


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1 States in the preceding fiscal year on asym2 metric defense capabilities to be deployed by 

3 Taiwan; 

4 (B) to spending not less than two and a 

5 half percent of Taiwan’s national gross domes6 tic product on defense on an annual basis by 

7 the end of fiscal year 2025, and not less than 

8 three percent of Taiwan’s national gross domes9 tic product on defense on an annual basis by 

10 the end of fiscal year 2027, including expendi11 tures under the normal defense budget and any 

12 supplemental or special defense budgets of Tai13 wan, and demonstrated progress toward these 

14 spending targets in the preceding fiscal year; 

15 (C) to acquiring asymmetric defense capa16 bilities as rapidly as possible, including from 

17 suppliers in the United States or other coun18 tries, if the Secretary of Defense determines 

19 that such suppliers will be able to provide such 

20 capabilities at reasonable cost, in sufficient 

21 quantities, of sufficient quality and technical 

22 standards, and more rapidly than suppliers in 

23 Taiwan, and upheld its commitment to acquire 

24 asymmetric defense capabilities as rapidly as 

25 possible in the preceding fiscal year; and 


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1 (D) to undertaking the defense reforms re2 quired to maximize the effectiveness of an 

3 asymmetric defense against an invasion by the 

4 People’s Republic of China, including by im5 proving the organization, mobilization, and 

6 training of the reserve forces and other military 

7 personnel of Taiwan, and demonstrated 

8 progress on such reforms in the preceding fiscal 

9 year. 

10 (4) NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

11 than 30 days after making a certification under 

12 paragraph (2) or (3), the Secretary of Defense shall 

13 submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a 

14 notice and explanation of such certification. 

15 (5) REMAINING FUNDS.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara17 graph (B), amounts appropriated for a fiscal 

18 year pursuant to the authorization of appro19 priations under subsection (b) that are not obli20 gated and expended during that fiscal year shall 

21 be added to the amount that may be used for 

22 the Initiative in the subsequent fiscal year. 

23 (B) RESCISSION.—Amounts appropriated 

24 pursuant to the authorization of appropriation 

25 under subsection (b) that remain unobligated 


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1 by the end of fiscal year 2027 shall be re2 scinded and deposited into the general fund of 

3 the Treasury. 

4 (g) DEFENSE ARTICLES AND SERVICES FROM

5 UNITED STATES INVENTORY AND OTHER SOURCES.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to assistance 

7 provided pursuant to subsection (c), the Secretary of 

8 Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of State, 

9 may make available to the Government of Taiwan, 

10 in such quantities as the Secretary of Defense con11 siders appropriate for the purpose described in sub12 section (d), the following: 

13 (A) Weapons and other defense articles 

14 from the United States inventory and other 

15 sources. 

16 (B) Excess defense articles from the 

17 United States inventory. 

18 (C) Defense services. 

19 (2) REPLACEMENT.—Amounts for the replace20 ment of any item provided to the Government of 

21 Taiwan under paragraph (1)(A) may be made avail22 able from the amount authorized to be appropriated 

23 under subsection (b). 


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1 (h) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—Assistance may 

2 not be provided under this section after September 30, 

3 2027. 

4 SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON CONVENTIONAL ARMS SALES. 

5 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con6 gress that— 

7 (1) historically, the Government of Taiwan has 

8 prioritized the acquisition of conventional weapons 

9 that would be of limited utility in deterring or de10 feating an invasion by the People’s Republic of 

11 China at the expense of the timely acquisition of 

12 cost-effective and resilient asymmetric defense capa13 bilities; 

14 (2) the United States Government has often 

15 shared responsibility for the misguided prioritization 

16 of defense acquisitions described in paragraph (1) by 

17 approving sales of conventional weapons to Taiwan, 

18 despite knowledge that such sales would do little to 

19 enhance, and may even undermine, the ability of 

20 Taiwan to deter or defeat an invasion by the Peo21 ple’s Republic of China; 

22 (3) the misguided prioritization of defense ac23 quisitions described in paragraph (1) has not only 

24 undermined the ability of Taiwan to deter or defeat 

25 an invasion by the People’s Republic of China, but 


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1 has also placed at greater risk of death or injury 

2 members of the United States Armed Forces who 

3 may come under attack or be asked to come to the 

4 aid of Taiwan to repel such an invasion; and 

5 (4) any future sales, leases, or other provision 

6 of conventional weaponry to Taiwan by the United 

7 States should be conditioned on meaningful progress 

8 by the Government of Taiwan on the acquisition of 

9 appropriate asymmetric defense capabilities. 

10 (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—For each of fiscal 

11 years 2023 through 2027, the United States Government 

12 shall not sell, lease, or otherwise provide military capabili13 ties to Taiwan other than asymmetric defense capabilities 

14 described in subsection (e) of section 3 until the earlier 

15 of— 

16 (1) the date on which the Secretary of Defense 

17 has submitted a notification under subsection (f)(4) 

18 of that section for the fiscal year in which the Gov19 ernment of Taiwan has requested the sale, lease, or 

20 other provision of military capabilities other than 

21 such asymmetric defense capabilities; or 

22 (2) the date on which the Secretary of Defense 

23 certifies to the appropriate committees of Congress 

24 that the sale, lease, or other provision to Taiwan of 


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1 military capabilities other than such asymmetric de2 fense capabilities— 

3 (A) is necessary to enhance the ability of 

4 Taiwan to deter or, if necessary, defeat an inva5 sion by the People’s Republic of China; or 

6 (B) will not slow, delay, limit, or otherwise 

7 detract from or undermine the ability of Taiwan 

8 to deploy such asymmetric defense capabilities. 

9 SEC. 5. DEFINITION OF APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF 

10 CONGRESS. 

11 In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate committees of 

12 Congress’’ means— 

13 (1) the Committee on Armed Services and the 

14 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and 

15 (2) the Committee on Armed Services and the 

16 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep17 resentatives. 

Æ 


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