WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today commented on press reports regarding potential arms transfers to Taiwan through Presidential Drawdown Authority:

“I strongly support President Biden’s long-delayed choice to exercise the authority Congress provided him to arm Taiwan with real capabilities to defend itself,” Wicker said. “This is exactly why Congress passed the Taiwan Enhanced Resilience Act, which allows the administration to transfer substantial amounts of U.S. defense articles and services to Taiwan. I urge the president to make use of the remaining authority as soon as possible.

“Presidential Drawdown Authority is only one of many tools that the U.S. government can use to help Taiwan fortify its defenses. I look forward to working with the administration and other members of Congress to leverage other tools and authorities, including Foreign Military Financing, to provide further security assistance to Taiwan.”