The war in Eastern Europe between Russia and Ukraine presents the US effort to help Taiwan with a new challenge. In Congress, the Americans say that because it is not clear when the war in Europe will end, the US will not be able to provide Taiwan with arms shipments at a total cost of about 19 billion dollars. And therefore, there is serious concern about Taiwan’s readiness for the possibility of a Chinese invasion, as reported today (Sunday) in the American “Wall Street Journal”. This, after the USA has already poured billions of dollars into Ukraine, since the Russian invasion began last February.
In the meantime, the shipment of weapons to Taiwan, which initially had a value of 14 billion dollars, and recently increased to 18.7 billion, including orders since 2015, include anti-tank missiles and surface-to-air missiles. According to sources in Congress, the weapons are part of the American strategy to arm the Taiwan, in a way that would raise the price for China, should it decide to invade. US military officials have said that Beijing may be ready to “reunite” with Taiwan as early as 2026. The Taiwanese government has declined to comment on the arms deal, but officials on the island have previously raised concerns about the delays. General Wang Xin-long, deputy minister of armaments at the Ministry of National Defense, said that “Taiwan wants to hope that the American weapons will be delivered as planned.”
Both the State Department and the Pentagon did not provide details about the shipment and what weapons it would include, but Congress warned of the delays in delivering the Stinger missiles and self-propelled guns. Another congressional source stated that “the diversion of the existing arms and ammunition stocks to Ukraine, and the problems in the supply chain related to the epidemic, worsened the delay in the delivery of the arms, which had already been approved for sale to Taiwan, and undermined the island’s readiness for conflict.” Pentagon spokeswoman, Sabrina Singhsaid that “we continue to work diligently to provide capabilities to Taiwan in the fastest way possible, so that it can defend itself.
Ukrainian army (Photo: REUTERS/Viacheslav Ratynskyi)Also, senior executives at “Lockheed Martin” and “Boeing” said that they struggled to keep up with orders even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine that increased demand. According to them, “the war, even if it is not the main reason for the lag, is still an influential factor.” in parallel, Doug Bushthe military procurement official in the US Army said that “although the delay cannot be connected to the war in Ukraine, the war affects the prioritization in the short term.”
Member of the United States House of Representatives from the 10th District of Texas, Michael McCall, said in haste that he would work with the Armed Services Committee in the House of Representatives to address “the underlying problems in the industry that contributes to the delays.” According to him, “In some places we have a delay of more than three years in sales to the foreign armies, which I signed in my position, and they have not yet been delivered, and they include Taiwan. As we saw in Ukraine, it would have been much better to deliver the weapons before the invasion.” According to the Deputy Secretary of State, Wendy Shermanthe US has agreed to sell $30 billion worth of weapons to Taiwan since 2009, including the most recent deal worth $18 billion.