Taiwan's Defense Minister Wellington Koo received a bipartisan delegation from the US House of Representatives on July 31, discussing cross-strait security and pledging sustained cooperation with Washington amid mounting pressures across the Indo-Pacific.
The group was led by Rep. Young Kim, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee's Asia-Pacific Subcommittee, and also included Reps. Suhas Subramanyam, Michael Cloud, and Randy Feenstra. Koo welcomed the lawmakers at the Ministry of National Defense, thanking them for the concrete display of cross-party congressional support for Taiwan.
Congressional Backing Spans Arms Sales And NDAA Provisions
Koo singled out Young Kim's legislative contributions as particularly meaningful to Taiwan's defense posture. He said the ministry "deeply appreciates" her efforts on arms sales approvals, negotiations over the National Defense Authorization Act — the annual US military policy bill — and a series of Taiwan-friendly legislative provisions. "These are tangible contributions to stabilizing cross-strait peace and strengthening our national security resilience," he said.
Koo framed the current threat environment in stark terms, pointing to gray zone operations — coercive actions designed to stay below the threshold of open military conflict — as among the most serious challenges Taiwan faces in the Indo-Pacific today. Against that backdrop, he said, Taiwan would continue to "stand shoulder to shoulder with the United States and democratic partners, firmly defending freedom and democracy, and maintaining regional peace and stability."
Young Kim Calls Taiwan Support Congress's Strongest Bipartisan Cause
Young Kim, a Korean-American Republican from California's 40th district, told her hosts that backing Taiwan has emerged as the area of broadest bipartisan agreement in the US Congress. She expressed confidence that the Taiwan-US relationship would deepen steadily and said the delegation remained committed to supporting Taiwan's efforts to strengthen its own self-defense capabilities through continued bilateral exchange and cooperation.
The visit reinforced the legislative underpinning of an unofficial but robust security relationship. Under the Taiwan Relations Act, Washington is committed to providing Taiwan with defensive arms and maintaining the capacity to resist any resort to force that would jeopardize the island's security. （Related： Han Kuang 42 | Taiwan's Largest Reserve Call-Up Deploys 5,000 Troops ｜ Latest ）
