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.
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
88.2 PERCENT INCREASE: The variants driving the current outbreak are not causing more severe symptoms, but are ‘more contagious’ than previous variants, an expert said Number of COVID-19 cases in the nation is surging, with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) describing the ongoing wave of infections as “rapid and intense,” and projecting that the outbreak would continue through the end of July. A total of 19,097 outpatient and emergency visits related to COVID-19 were reported from May 11 to Saturday last week, an 88.2 percent increase from the previous week’s 10,149 visits, CDC data showed. The nearly 90 percent surge in case numbers also marks the sixth consecutive weekly increase, although the total remains below the 23,778 recorded during the same period last year,
RSS