WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Rick Scott joined Senators John Cornyn, Tammy Duckworth, Roger Wicker, Kevin Cramer, James Lankford, Thom Tillis, Todd Young, Roger Marshall, Ted Cruz, Joni Ernst, Tom Cotton and Cindy Hyde-Smith to introduce the bipartisan Taiwan Partnership Act. The Taiwan Partnership Act would establish a partnership between the U.S. National Guard and Taiwanese defense forces to ensure a well-integrated defense force capable of fast deployment during a crisis.

Senator Rick Scott said, “As Communist China escalates its aggression toward Taiwan, the United States must make clear that we stand with our great ally and the Taiwanese people in defense of its democracy. This legislation carries an important message to General Secretary Xi that we will not tolerate his threats against Taiwan’s autonomy.”

Senator John Cornyn said, “Taiwan is a critical ally in a region facing growing destabilization and competition for power. This legislation would help ensure the National Guard is ready to act in support of Taiwan should its autonomy be threatened.”

Senator Tammy Duckworth said, “Taiwan is an important strategic partner for the U.S. in the Indo-Pacific region. I’m introducing this bipartisan bill with Senator Cornyn to evaluate the feasibility of enhanced cooperation between our two peoples on important issues like emergency response, cyber defense, education, cultural exchange and advisor programs. Our National Guard units do great work in our communities every day, and they’re ideally suited to help build partner capacity across this range of skill sets in Taiwan.”

The Taiwan Partnership Act would establish the sense of Congress that the United States should continue to support the development of capable, ready, and modern defense forces for Taiwan to maintain its self-defense by:

• Developing a partnership program between the U.S. National Guard and Taiwan;
• Increasing exchanges between senior defense officials and general officers of the U.S. and Taiwan to improve interoperability, improve Taiwan’s reserve forces, and expand humanitarian and disaster relief cooperation;
• Expanding Taiwan’s capability to conduct security activities, including traditional combatant commands, cooperation with the National Guard, and multilateral activities;
• And requiring an annual report by the Secretary of Defense on the cooperation between the National Guard and Taiwan.

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