Taiwan’s participation in the US-led Partnership for Indo-Pacific Industrial Resilience (PIPIR) signaled a boost to the nation’s quest to produce arms under license or in conjunction with original manufacturers, an expert said.
The group on Tuesday and Wednesday held its inaugural conference in Honolulu, Hawaii.
High-ranking defense officials representing US-friendly governments attended the meeting, including Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Yen-pu (徐衍璞), a photograph released by the Pentagon on Thursday showed.
Photo courtesy of the US Department of Defense via CNA
The US Department of Defense said that 13 nations and territories in the Indo-Pacific region and the Atlantic Europe region took part as members, but it did not identify the governments by name.
Headed by US Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment William LaPlante, the discussions delved into industry maintenance, sustainment chains, production and policy aspects of resilience, the Pentagon said.
“The establishment of PIPIR directly supports [the Pentagon’s] implementation of the National Defense Industrial Strategy and Regional Sustainment Framework, which emphasizes the importance of strengthening international defense production and sustainment relationships,” it said.
Cooperation between members would bolster their defense industrial bases, production volume, workforces, innovation, information sharing, standardization and resilience, it said, adding the partnership extends to the private sector.
An industry advisory committee would be established as a permanent body that the group runs, it said.
Recent events have opened the door to joint arms production between Taiwan and the US, former US Marine Corps Forces Pacific commander Steven Rudder told the Atlantic Council at a meeting in Washington.
The US is pursuing joint solutions to increase arms production via myriad arrangements, including AUKUS, and forging a security alliance with Japan and the Philippines, Rudder said.
Taiwan has expressed interest in becoming part of the US-led joint arms production scheme, a request that should be granted, as sustaining the nation during a conflict and building materiel stockpiles are significant challenges, he said.
Joint or licensed arms production is arranged on the foundation of trust and Taiwan has long been a trustworthy US ally, US-Taiwan Chamber of Commerce vice president Lotta Danielsson said, citing bilateral cooperation in the technology sector.
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