(Sec. 1259P) Authorizes DOD to grant observer status to the military forces of Taiwan in any maritime exercise known as the Rim of the Pacific Exercise.
Sec. 1284. Sense of Congress on military exchanges between the United States and Taiwan.
(a) Military Exchanges Between Senior Officers and Officials of the United States and Taiwan.
–The Secretary of Defense should carry out a program of exchanges of senior military officers and senior officials between the United States and Taiwan designed to improve military to military relations between the United States and Taiwan.
(b) Exchanges Described.
–For the purposes of this section, an exchange is an activity, exercise, event, or observation opportunity between members of the Armed Forces and officials of the Department of Defense, on the one hand, and armed forces personnel and officials of Taiwan, on the other hand.
(c) Focus of Exchanges.
–The exchanges under the program described in subsection (a) should include exchanges focused on the following:
(1) Threat analysis.
(2) Military doctrine.
(3) Force planning.
(4) Logistical support.
(5) Intelligence collection and analysis.
(6) Operational tactics, techniques, and procedures.
(7) Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
(d) Civil-Military Affairs.
–The exchanges under the program described in subsection (a) should include activities and exercises focused on civil-military relations, including parliamentary relations.
(e) Location of Exchanges.
–The exchanges under the program described in subsection (a) should be conducted in both the United States and Taiwan.
(f) Definitions.
–In this section: (1) The term “senior military officer”, with respect to the Armed Forces, means a general or flag officer of the Armed Forces on active duty. (2) The term “senior official”, with respect to the Department of Defense, means a civilian official of the Department of Defense at the level of Assistant Secretary of Defense or above.
If signed into law by U.S. President Barack Obama, Pentagon officials higher than the level of assistant defense secretary would be permitted to visit Taiwan.
