What’s New
Beijing has issued a sharp rebuke after U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025, citing its “negative content on China.”
Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Defense Ministry with a request for comment by email.
Why It Matters
Of the record $895 billion the bill authorizes in spending—a 1 percent increase over last year and the largest defense budget in U.S. history—$15.5 billion is allocated to the U.S. Pacific Deterrence Initiative, established in 2021 to strengthen Indo-Pacific defense capabilities to counter China’s growing military influence.
Additionally, the act authorizes up to $300 million in military articles and training for Taiwan, the self-governed island democracy that Beijing’s Chinese Communist Party claims as its territory and has vowed to someday unify with.
What To Know
“The U.S. determined to sign into law the ‘National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025,’ containing negative content on China, playing up the ‘China threat’ narrative year after year,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said during Tuesday’s regular press briefing.
Associated Press
She accused Washington of “trumpeting for military support to Taiwan,” undermining China’s sovereignty and development, and limiting exchanges between the two nations. Mao also urged the U.S. to abandon its “Cold War mentality,” cease arms sales to Taiwan and stop “weaponizing sci-tech, economic and trade issues.”
“The U.S. should also stop finding pretexts for increasing military expenditure and maintaining hegemony,” Mao added, warning of “strong and resolute measures” if these actions persist.
The U.S. does not maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan but remains its primary arms supplier. Last week, Taiwan received the first batch of 38 Abrams tanks from an order of 108 approved by Congress in 2019.
The delivery is part of Taiwan’s efforts to bolster its defenses amid increasing Chinese military deployments and exercises aimed at intimidating the Beijing-skeptic government of President Lai Ching-te.
What People Are Saying
Li Haidong, international relations professor, China Foreign Affairs University told the Global Times: “the U.S. National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 will bring a negative impact and uncertainties to China-U.S. relations next year, because it is an act aimed at meeting the demands of hawkish and anti-China forces to hype the ‘China threat’ rhetoric worldwide and provide pretexts for the U.S. military industrial complex to earn more money.”
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted on X, formerly Twitter: “We welcome U.S. government approval of arms sales totaling $295 million to Taiwan, reaffirming its commitment to our defense in line with the Taiwan Relations Act and #SixAssurances. We continue to strengthen our self-defense & bilateral security ties to secure #IndoPacific peace.”
