The backlog of US arms sales to Taiwan is worth US$19.17 billion, with F-16s and Abrams tanks making up more than 50 percent of the value, the Cato Institute said in a study published on Monday.
The study drew data from the US Department of Defense’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Washington has not released detailed information on delayed arms shipments.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
The Cato Institute broke down the arms backlog into “traditional,” “asymmetric” and “munition” weapons categories and capabilities, with traditional being 63.2 percent of the total, asymmetric comprising 22 percent and munitions 14.8 percent, the study said.
The undelivered traditional capabilities, totaling US$12.113 billion, mainly consisted of US$8 billion of F-16C/D Block 70 jets and US$2 billion of M1A2T Abrams tanks, it said.
The undelivered traditional capabilities also included M109A6 Paladin self-propelled howitzers comprising 3.9 percent of the total backlog, while infrared search and track systems for F-16s comprised 2.6 percent and MK 15 Phalanx close-in weapon systems comprised 2.2 percent, it said.
The traditional capabilities delayed also included MS-110 jet reconnaissance pods (1.9 percent) and AN/SLQ-32 electronic warfare systems for Keelung-class destroyers (0.4 percent), the study said.
However, the backlogged traditional systems would have imposed a high cost on Taiwan’s limited defense resources and would be of “minimal utility” in fighting the Chinese the People’s Liberation Army, it said.
The US should prioritize the delivery of asymmetric capabilities and ammunition “to keep Taipei from running out of reloads quickly in a conflict,” the study said.
The asymmetric capabilities, worth US$4.221 billion, included Harpoon coastal defense systems totaling US$2.37 billion, or 12.4 percent of the backlog, it said.
The undelivered asymmetric capabilities also included MQ-9B uncrewed aerial vehicles comprising 3.1 percent of the backlog and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems comprising 2.3 percent, it said.
Air-launched Harpoon missiles comprised 1.9 percent of the backlog, Field Information Communication Systems comprised 1.5 percent and Volcano anti-tank mining systems comprised 0.9 percent, it added.
Munitions not yet delivered totaled US$2.835 billion, including AGM-84H SLAM-ER missiles worth US$1.008 billion, or 5.3 percent of the backlog, as well as F-16 munitions comprising 3.2 percent, it said.
In addition, MK 48 heavyweight torpedoes, 30mm rounds, AGM-154C Joint Standoff Weapons, lightweight torpedoes and conversion kits, and AIM-9X Block II missiles accounted for 2.2 percent, 2.2 percent, 1.7 percent, 1 percent, 0.9 percent and 0.4 percent of the backlog respectively, the study said.
The Philippines is working behind the scenes to enhance its defensive cooperation with Taiwan, the Washington Post said in a report published on Monday. “It would be hiding from the obvious to say that Taiwan’s security will not affect us,” Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro Jr told the paper in an interview on Thursday last week. Although there has been no formal change to the Philippines’ diplomatic stance on recognizing Taiwan, Manila is increasingly concerned about Chinese encroachment in the South China Sea, the report said. The number of Chinese vessels in the seas around the Philippines, as well as Chinese
‘A SERIOUS THREAT’: Japan has expressed grave concern over the Strait’s security over the years, which demonstrated Tokyo’s firm support for peace in the area, an official said China’s military drills around Taiwan are “incompatible” with peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Takeshi Iwaya said during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi (王毅) on Thursday. “Peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is important for the international community, including Japan,” Iwaya told Wang during a meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ Meetings in Kuala Lumpur. “China’s large-scale military drills around Taiwan are incompatible with this,” a statement released by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday cited Iwaya as saying. The Foreign Ministers’ Meetings are a series of diplomatic
URBAN COMBAT: FIM-92 Stinger shoulder-fired missiles from the US made a rare public appearance during early-morning drills simulating an invasion of the Taipei MRT The ongoing Han Kuang military exercises entered their sixth day yesterday, simulating repelling enemy landings in Penghu County, setting up fortifications in Tainan, laying mines in waters in Kaohsiung and conducting urban combat drills in Taipei. At 5am in Penghu — part of the exercise’s first combat zone — participating units responded to a simulated rapid enemy landing on beaches, combining infantry as well as armored personnel. First Combat Zone Commander Chen Chun-yuan (陳俊源) led the combined armed troops utilizing a variety of weapons systems. Wang Keng-sheng (王鏗勝), the commander in charge of the Penghu Defense Command’s mechanized battalion, said he would give
‘REALISTIC’ APPROACH: The ministry said all the exercises were scenario-based and unscripted to better prepare personnel for real threats and unexpected developments The army’s 21st Artillery Command conducted a short-range air defense drill in Taoyuan yesterday as part of the Han Kuang exercises, using the indigenous Sky Sword II (陸射劍二) missile system for the first time in the exercises. The armed forces have been conducting a series of live-fire and defense drills across multiple regions, simulating responses to a full-scale assault by Chinese forces, the Ministry of National Defense said. The Sky Sword II missile system was rapidly deployed and combat-ready within 15 minutes to defend Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in a simulated attack, the ministry said. A three-person crew completed setup and