Budget Worth $ 1.8 Billion To Support Indo-Pacific Relation: Biden

$682 million is proposed for Ukrainian aid amidst the war

Washington: To strengthen the Indo-Pacific bilateral relationship, US President Joe Biden proposed $1.8 billion to support his Indo-Pacific Strategy along with another $400 million to counter the malign Chinese behavior.

According to the Biden administration, both are part of the $773 billion annual defense budget of the US for the year 2023, which was submitted by the White House to Congress as part of its annual budgetary proposals.

The US President, Joe Biden said, “In the Indo-Pacific, America is strengthening its role and expanding its cooperation with longtime allies and partners, including new diplomatic, defense and security, critical and emerging technology and supply chain, and climate and global health initiatives, while supporting stronger ties between our European and Indo Pacific allies."

Taking notes from the White House, the President has prioritized strategic competition with China and worked with allies and partners to resist coercion and deter aggression from Beijing and Moscow, and has ended America's 20-year war in Afghanistan while removing all US troops.

While announcing more details, the White House added, the budget promotes integrated deterrence in the Indo-Pacific and globally. To sustain and strengthen deterrence, the budget prioritizes China as the Department's pacing challenge.

The main focus is to highlight the support function of American leadership in defending democracy, freedom, and security worldwide. The Budget includes nearly $1.8 billion to support a free and open, connected, secure, and resilient Indo-Pacific Region and the Indo-Pacific Strategy and $400 million for the Chinese Malign Influence Fund.

The Budget covers aid for the Russia-Ukrainian war, as it provides $682 million for Ukraine, an increase of $219 million above the 2021 enacted level, to counter Russian malign influence and to meet emerging needs related to security, energy, cyber security issues, disinformation, macroeconomic stabilization, and civil society resilience.