The Biden administration has advised Congress it’ll withhold $85 million in support to Egypt over alleged human-rights abuses
Washington plans to withhold a few of the overseas army support allotted for Egypt and redirect it to different international locations, the Wall Road Journal reported on Thursday, citing sources near the matter.
Based on the outlet, the Biden administration has notified Congress that it’s going to withhold $85 million in army support from Egypt, which had been made conditional on the discharge of political prisoners. As an alternative, this cash will reportedly be diverted to Taiwan and Lebanon, with $55 million going to Taipei and the opposite $30 million to Beirut.
The WSJ additionally claimed that some US lawmakers are pushing to withhold a further $235 million in conditional help amid calls to punish Cairo for alleged human-rights abuses.
Final month, a gaggle of 11 Democrats on the Home International Affairs Committee known as on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to withhold the complete $320 million of conditional support for Cairo. They “acknowledged the historic, deeply rooted bilateral US-Egypt relationship,” however mentioned they had been “strongly involved” by experiences about persistent and continued systemic violations of human rights in Egypt.
The conditional support tied to Egypt’s human-rights file is simply a fraction of the general $1.3 billion that the nation receives annually from the US within the type of army financing.
CNN later reported, nonetheless, that the Biden administration had apparently mentioned it will nonetheless enable Cairo to entry $235 million. A senior US official reportedly advised the outlet that Secretary of State Antony Blinken had “decided that it’s within the US nationwide safety curiosity to waive sure human rights associated situations” and permit the cash to go to Egypt.
Washington has continued to offer army help to Taipei amid rising tensions within the Taiwan Strait. Final month, the White Home greenlit an unprecedented $80 million arms switch to Taiwan underneath a program usually reserved for sovereign nations, in an effort to “strengthen” the island’s self-defense capabilities. Throughout the identical month, the US additionally authorized the sale of $500 million value of recent tools for Taiwan’s US-designed F-16 fighter jets.
Washington’s arms gross sales to Taiwan have outraged China, which considers the island an inalienable a part of its territory and claims the correct to retake the realm by power if crucial. Beijing has insisted that overseas arms offers with Taiwan violate its One-China coverage and represent meddling in its home affairs.
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