By Wu Qiaoxi | 2026-07-16

A U.S. Senate committee has approved a draft defense bill that would expand a Taiwan-focused security initiative to include the Philippines, reflecting Washington's efforts to strengthen regional defenses and deterrence along the "first island chain."

The first island chain includes Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines.

The Senate Armed Services Committee approved its draft fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act on June 11. The bill would rename the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative as the First Island Chain Security Cooperation Initiative and expand its coverage. It would go beyond Taiwan to include the Philippines if enacted.

The bill would raise authorized security assistance from $1 billion to $1.5 billion (to be shared by Taiwan and the Philippines) for fiscal year 2027 and extend the initiative through 2032. It must still requires reconciliation with the House version and signing by the U.S. president before taking effect.

The authorization would mark the latest tranche of U.S. security funding for the Philippines, following $2.5 billion ($500 million yearly for five fiscal years) authorized under the Philippine Enhanced Resilience Act last December, according to USNI News.

China considers Taiwan its territory and has numerous maritime territorial disputes with the Philippines.

Taiwan's response

Including the Philippines is intended to broaden regional cooperation rather than exclude Taiwan or diminish its role, Taiwanese Deputy Defense Minister Hsu Szu-chien said on June 17.

Taiwan's security enjoys strong bipartisan support in Congress, including billions of dollars in budgeted assistance, American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond F. Greene told Taiwan's United Daily News in a June 23 interview.

The United States and its Indo-Pacific allies agree that deterrent measures are needed to preserve regional stability, Greene said.

"Under the U.S. National Security Strategy, we need to work with regional allies to maintain the status quo across the first island chain and deter any attempt to seize Taiwan by force," he said. "The United States is both deploying its newest defense capabilities to the Indo-Pacific and deepening cooperation with allies."

Reserve stockpile

The bill calls for establishing a war stockpile for Taiwan. Although Washington has not released implementation details, the program is expected to resemble arrangements used for Israel and South Korea.

War reserve stock programs are intended to sustain allied forces until local production and outside resupply can meet wartime consumption, USNI News reported, citing the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

Existing stockpiles contain billions of dollars' worth of ammunition, military vehicles and medical supplies for use by the forces of host nations, allies and the United States during a crisis.

The proposal reflects concerns about the volume of munitions a conflict with China could consume and the difficulty of resupplying forces across the vast Indo-Pacific, according to USNI News.

"This is a great deterrent," Mark Montgomery, a retired U.S. Navy rear admiral and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Taiwan's Central News Agency.

He said it signals to China that Taiwan could use U.S. reserve equipment, in addition to its own weapons, to resist an invasion.

"What is critical is that any supplies and ammunition we want to transfer to Taiwan are already stored there," Montgomery said.

China has frequently conducted exercises involving sea denial and blockade operations, and forward-deployed U.S. stockpiles would help Taiwan sustain its defenses for longer, said Lin Ying-yu, an associate professor at Tamkang University's Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies.

Regional defense

The bill directs the Pentagon to review delays in arms sales to Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and the Philippines, and assess how those delays affect the first island chain's defense resilience.

Separately, the bill requires the Pentagon to develop a South China Sea crisis management strategy. The South China Sea has become one of the most contested areas in the western Pacific over the past two decades.

Chinese forces have adopted an increasingly coercive approach in the South China Sea since 2022, according to USNI News. Tensions peaked in 2024 after confrontations at Second Thomas Shoal and Sabina Shoal.

China has moved to reclaim land and build facilities at Scarborough Shoal, prompting increased Philippine and U.S. naval deployments in the area, the report said.

The United States is obligated under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty to assist the Philippines if Chinese actions result in the deaths of Filipino civilians, sailors or service members.

The changes show Washington is gradually integrating Taiwan into a broader first island chain strategy that "will promote deepened cooperation and important interoperability" among the United States, Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines, said Rupert Hammond-Chambers, president of the US-Taiwan Business Council.