US Sets $500 Million For Taiwan Arms On Ukraine-Style Fast Track

(Bloomberg) -- The Biden administration is pulling together a $500 million weapons package for Taiwan, using for the first time a fast-track authority that it has relied on to speed arms to Ukraine, people familiar with the matter said.

The package will involve sending existing stockpiles of US weapons or support equipment to Taiwan under what's known as a Presidential Drawdown Authority, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations. The equipment to be in the package wasn't immediately known.

The Pentagon and the White House didn't immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.

The Biden administration and its allies have grown increasingly concerned about the pace of Beijing's military modernization and have warned that China wants to be able to invade Taiwan by 2027. 

Using a drawdown will let the US sidestep the often-lengthy process of contracting and producing weapons, which has resulted in what US lawmakers say is a $19 billion backlog in weapons that have been approved but not yet delivered to Taiwan. 

Congress authorized President Joe Biden to use as much as $1 billion in US inventory for the island democracy in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, and lawmakers have complained the administration has been slow to use that authority. Congress didn't appropriate funds to replace the equipment so the Pentagon would have to seek that money later.

The request is likely to anger China and cuts against President Joe Biden's effort to restore stability to contacts with Beijing. The administration has requested a meeting between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu on the sidelines of the Shangri-La forum in Singapore in June.

Most high-level communication stalled after an alleged Chinese spy balloon traversed the continental US in February. 

Austin and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines have said they don't see an effort by China to seize Taiwan by force as imminent.

--With assistance from Jenny Leonard.

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