To strengthen military interoperability between Taiwan and the US, Taiwan should expand its procurement through direct commercial sales channel rather than relying solely on foreign military sales, a former US Navy rear admiral said in Taipei yesterday, adding that the legislature’s effort to separate the two mechanisms are seen as offering little benefit to Taiwan-US relations.
Retired rear admiral Mark Montgomery, senior director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation, was quoted as making the remarks by the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) at a forum held by the media outlet Now News.
The legislature is trying to remove funding for direct commercial sales while keeping foreign military sales from the US as part of an ongoing political battle over the special defense budget, he said.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
Direct commercial sales is the main channel used by the US government to upgrade mission-critical software packages of modern platforms, including uncrewed aerial and surface vehicles, Montgomery said.
Lawmakers who suspect graft or corruption linked to direct commercial sales should target specific budget items for scrutiny, instead of rejecting all arms procurement falling under the category, he said.
US President Donald Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on May 14 would be “a Taiwanese general election decided by two votes,” Montgomery said.
If Taiwan wants to avoid being placed on the “sacrificial guarantees” list when Trump and Xi sit down together, it must demonstrate the posture of a “model ally,” he said.
Key indicators of Taiwan’s “good ally” status are being firm in its opposition to China, ability to supply the US artificial intelligence economy with semiconductors, and allocating more than 3.5 percent of its GDP to defense, he said.
The three parties in the legislature must pass the military spending bills before the summit lest the power to determine Taiwan’s destiny fall into the hands of others, he said.
Technologies transferred via direct commercial sales are crucial for Taiwan’s ability to fight a war alongside the US as an ally, he said.
The US has four levels of interoperability with its military allies and partners, which in ascending order are “deconflicted,” “coordinated,” “integrated” and “unified,” he said.
Taiwan, the nation confronting the high-grade threat of China, is rated as “deconflicted,” or the bottom rung of interoperability with US forces, he said
Michael Sobolik, a researcher at the Hudson Institute, said about the Trump-Xi meeting that the US president strongly favors allies that display resolve in defending themselves and a willingness to invest in their armed forces.
The US Congress wishes to see that Taiwan is prepared to fight an asymmetrical conflict, possessing resilience and the capability to manufacture key platforms indigenously, he said.
What Xi least wants you to believe is that Taiwan has initiative, he said, adding Xi’s goal is to isolate Taiwan and make it feel powerless, however if the budget is passed, Taiwan can strengthen the foundation of its relationship with the US and place itself in a very favorable position.
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