The US should help Taiwan bolster its military self-reliance by accelerating deliveries of weapons Taipei has ordered, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Yen-pu (徐衍璞) said on Monday at the US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference in Virginia.
The meeting was not open to the media.
Hsu called on Washington to help Taiwan with “total life cycle systems management [TLCSM]” of weapons and support systems purchased from Washington, the Ministry of National Defense said.
Photo: CNA
TLCSM is a US military term referring to the implementation, management and oversight of all activities associated with the acquisition, development, production, fielding, sustainment and disposal of a US Department of Defense weapon system across its life cycle.
Taiwan relies heavily on the US to maintain most of its US-made weapons systems and armaments, but TLCSM capabilities would enable more Taiwanese defense companies and contractors to produce and offer maintenance services for US-bought weapon systems, Hsu said.
That would speed up arms deliveries to Taiwan and help integrate the two countries’ defense industries, which would boost Taiwan’s defense self-reliance and resilience, he said.
Hsu thanked US President Joe Biden for approving 11 rounds of arms sales to Taiwan since taking office in 2021 and endorsing a US$345 million military aid package to Taiwan to be delivered under the Presidential Drawdown Authority.
These moves show that Washington is making Taipei’s defensive needs and self-defense capabilities a priority, Hsu said.
The Russia-Ukraine war has highlighted the importance of accelerating delivery of weapons systems to Taiwan to beef up its defense capabilities, he said.
The three-day US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference was to conclude yesterday.
Since its 2002 debut, the annual conference has facilitated engagement between the US defense industry and the governments of Taiwan and the US on security matters, organizers said.
This year’s conference was the largest ever, said Rupert Hammond-Chambers, president of the event’s organizer, the US-Taiwan Business Council.
More than 200 participants from the two nations’ governments, as well as defense industry representatives, discussed the future of bilateral defense cooperation, the organizers said.
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
DETERMINATION: Beijing’s actions toward Tokyo have drawn international attention, but would likely bolster regional coordination and defense networks, the report said Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration is likely to prioritize security reforms and deterrence in the face of recent “hybrid” threats from China, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said. The bureau made the assessment in a written report to the Legislative Yuan ahead of an oral report and questions-and-answers session at the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The key points of Japan’s security reforms would be to reinforce security cooperation with the US, including enhancing defense deployment in the first island chain, pushing forward the integrated command and operations of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and US Forces Japan, as
‘TROUBLEMAKER’: Most countries believe that it is China — rather than Taiwan — that is undermining regional peace and stability with its coercive tactics, the president said China should restrain itself and refrain from being a troublemaker that sabotages peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks after China Coast Guard vessels sailed into disputed waters off the Senkaku Islands — known as the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) in Taiwan — following a remark Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made regarding Taiwan. Takaichi during a parliamentary session on Nov. 7 said that a “Taiwan contingency” involving a Chinese naval blockade could qualify as a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, and trigger Tokyo’s deployment of its military for defense. Asked about the escalating tensions
The Ministry of Economic Affairs said it plans to revise the export control list for strategic high-tech products by adding 18 items under three categories — advanced 3D printing equipment, advanced semiconductor equipment and quantum computers — which would require local manufacturers to obtain licenses for their export. The ministry’s announcement yesterday came as the International Trade Administration issued a 60-day preview period for planned revisions to the Export Control List for Dual Use Items and Technology (軍商兩用貨品及技術出口管制清單) and the Common Military List (一般軍用貨品清單), which fall under regulations governing export destinations for strategic high-tech commodities and specific strategic high-tech commodities. The
RSS