The Pentagon has formed a “tiger team” to discuss foreign military sales and ensure that Taiwan has sufficient military capabilities, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Thursday.
Austin was responding to a remark by US Representative Ken Calvert, chairman of the US House of Representatives Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, after his visit to Taiwan last week that arms deliveries were moving at an “extremely slow pace.”
Speaking at the US House Committee on Appropriations, Austin attributed the backlog to the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain pressures, but said that “the industry will catch up.”
Photo: AFP
He said he assembled a “tiger team” months ago to “dig down on the foreign military sales issues” and strive to expedite deliveries.
Leaders from the US Department of Defense gather regularly “to make sure that we are providing the right kinds of capabilities that Taiwan needs,” he added.
The US National Guard has been working with Taiwan to increase its proficiency in several areas, he said, adding that continuing the joint program “will be very, very valuable.”
The defense secretary was joined by US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley, who was asked about the potential impact of a cut in defense spending and how it would affect Washington’s ability to provide deterrence against Chinese activities in the Indo-Pacific region.
Milley said the operational tempo and training of the US military would be greatly reduced not just in the region, but worldwide.
He said cuts could force the US to make fewer transits through the Taiwan Strait, and also “less freedom of navigation, less patrolling of the air, less ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance]. Everything will be less, which will increase risk, increase danger and send the wrong message.”
Separately, US Representative Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called on Washington to speed up arms deliveries to Taiwan at the committee’s budget hearing on Thursday.
“The threat of communist China cannot be overstated,” he said.
“I personally think Chairman Xi is going to try to influence the [legislative and presidential] elections” in Taiwan next year, he added, referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).
If Xi fails, his “plan B” would be a blockade and “an invasion on a scale that will make Ukraine look like a very small thing,” he said.
“Taiwan is not prepared,” he said, citing an absence of joint military exercises between Taiwan and the US, as well as arms sale delays.
Along with the AUKUS security alliance comprising Australia, the UK and the US, and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue between Australia, India, Japan and the US, he called on the US to arm Taiwan to deter a potential Chinese invasion, which he said would be “devastating.”
Taiwan’s importance lies in its control of 90 percent of the global supply of advanced semiconductors, he said, adding that an invasion would result in “a world of hurt.”
The budget requested by the US Department of State and the US Agency for International Development Indo-Pacific Opportunity Project for fiscal 2024 increased by 18 percent compared with the previous fiscal year.
US President Joe Biden “is firmly committed to advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
US Representative Ann Wagner, vice chairwoman of the foreign affairs committee, urged the US to show “resolute and unflinching support for this important democratic partner as it faces increased bullying and coercion” by China.
She questioned the approach taken by the US, saying that it “is overly concerned with avoiding even the slightest chance of offending Beijing,” while only 2 percent of the proposed budget goes toward the Indo-Pacific region.
The most effective way to support Taiwan is through foreign military sales programs, Blinken said, adding that the US is working closely with Taiwan to ensure that “it has an effective deterrent and defense capacity.”
He said that production challenges in delivering arms to Taiwan were a result of the pandemic and supply chain problems, but expects to “see significant progress.”
Additional reporting by CNA
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS