The Taipei Times reports that “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday welcomed the US Senate’s and the US House of Representatives’ call for military exchanges between senior Taiwanese and US officials in the US National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the 2017 fiscal year, expressing gratitude to the US Congress for its continuous efforts to promote military cooperation between Taiwan and the US.”

“’Such words were already included in the two houses’ separate versions of the NDAA for next year when they deliberated in the first half of this year,’ ministry spokeswoman Eleanor Wang said.”

“Wang said the ministry welcomed the retention of the language in the two US government bodies’ post-negotiation versions, and would continue to keep close tabs on the pending votes on the bill and the ensuing legislative process.”