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Proposed U.S. bill takes aim at PRC cyberattacks against Taiwan

ROC Central News Agency

04/21/2023 03:55 PM

Washington, April 20 (CNA) Four United States senators and representatives introduced legislation Thursday that would enable the Pentagon to cooperate with Taiwan in fortifying its cybersecurity against China.

The bill, called the "Taiwan Cybersecurity Resiliency Act," would authorize the U.S. Department of Defense to conduct cybersecurity training exercises with Taiwan, and defend Taiwan's military networks and infrastructure.

"We must push back on the Chinese Communist Party's growing aggression, and its attempts to undermine democracy around the world -- including through hostile cyber actions," Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen, one of the bill's four co-sponsors, said in a press statement.

"All too often, we've seen Taiwan used as a testing ground for China's cyberattacks later used against the United States," said Rosen, a former computer programmer, citing the 20 million to 40 million cyberattacks from China against Taiwan per month in 2019.

The bill's three other co-sponsors were Republican Senator Mike Rounds, Democratic Representative Chrissy Houlahan and Republican Representative Mike Gallagher, who chairs the Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the U.S. and China.

"This bill helps arm Taiwan to the teeth in the cyber domain by strengthening Taiwan's cyber forces and building an even stronger partnership between our two countries," said Gallagher, who warned that Chinese cyber assaults could have "devastating" effects.

Houlahan, who referred to Taiwan as "a close ally and important strategic partner," said "Taiwan's critical infrastructure resilience is absolutely imperative to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific."

Legislation related to national security, however, rarely passes through Congress as a standalone bill, according to Breaking Defense, which said the bill was most likely to be seriously considered later this year "when lawmakers begin drafting the annual defense policy and spending bills."

Also on Thursday in testimony to lawmakers on possible cybersecurity cooperation between the U.S. and Taiwan, John Aquilino, commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, said it was a priority to enhance cybersecurity capabilities between the U.S. and its allies in the region.

Meanwhile, Aquilino refuted the idea that Washington's arms deliveries to Taipei would be impacted by its military support to Kyiv, stressing that "the U.S. is the only global force capable of managing multiple threats."

(By Chian Chin-yeh and Chao Yen-hsiang)

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