Taiwan should prioritize the acquisition of precision weaponry and ammunition from Washington, as well as lobby for the US to establish local production lines, as a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would be a war of attrition across multiple fronts, Taiwan Security Association deputy secretary-general Ho Cheng-hui (何澄輝) said yesterday.
Ho’s comments came after Reuters published a report citing US officials as saying that the administration of US President Donald Trump sought to exceed the amount of weapons sales to Taiwan compared with his first term.
According to the report, the first Trump administration approved sales of about US$18.3 billion of weapons to Taiwan, compared with about US$8.4 billion during former US president Joe Biden’s term.
Photo: Daniel Ceng Shou Yi, EPA-EFE
According to the report, US officials said that Trump and his administration were committed to “enhancing hard deterrence” for Taiwan.
“That’s where the president is. That’s where all of us are,” the report quoted one US official as saying.
China is likely to make an invasion of Taiwan a war of attrition to deplete Taiwan and its allies’ ammunition stores, especially precision weaponry, Ho said.
Taiwan should prioritize the expansion of all ammunition production capabilities, such as ammunition for the M114 155mm howitzer, the Type 63 120mm mortar, and the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), Ho said, adding that Taiwan should also increase the capacity of its reserves for such ammunition.
The inventory of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) from the US, at 84, is severely insufficient to prevent China from conducting landing operations, Ho said.
Taiwan should purchase more ATACMS, or should consider purchasing the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) short-ranged ballistic missiles being developed to replace the ATACMS, he said.
Ho also urged Taipei to work with the US to establish ammunition manufacturing lines in Taiwan, citing a 2020 agreement between Lockheed Martin and the Aerospace Industrial Development Corp to establish an F-16 maintenance center in Taichung.
Ensuring local production of ammunition would strengthen Taiwan’s defense resilience, Ho said.
Upgrades to tactical communications and information systems should also be prioritized, with a focus on anti-drone capabilities, electronic warfare equipment and expanding tactical radar coverage, Ho said.
Ho said that purchases of F-35s and AEGIS-equipped ships should not be the immediate focus, as such platforms require five years to a decade to become useful, while increasing Taiwan’s number of HIMARS and locally produced Thunderbolt-2000 wheeled multiple launch rocket systems would provide immediate combat capabilities for a war of attrition.
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