US Think Tank Scholar Urges Trump to Accelerate Arms Sales: Taiwan Needs US Weapons Now

(Central News Agency, Washington, 9th, Combined Foreign Reports) A US think tank scholar has pointed out that Taiwan urgently needs US weapons now and warned that delays in pushing forward the $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan could embolden China and potentially weaken US deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region.

Seth Jones, Director of the Defense and Security Department at the Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), recently wrote an article in The Wall Street Journal titled "Taiwan Needs U.S. Arms Now," analyzing the current state of US-Taiwan arms sales.

He stated that Taiwan urgently needs these air defense systems, missiles, drones, and other weapons to defend against China. Furthermore, of the already approved US arms sales to Taiwan, another $30 billion worth of weapons and equipment is backlogged and must be delivered as soon as possible.

Chinese President Xi Jinping maintains a tough stance on Taiwan. The Chinese military has repeatedly conducted exercises simulating the blockade and invasion of Taiwan, and Xi warned US President Donald Trump last month that mishandling the Taiwan issue could trigger war.

Chinese leadership has also indicated that one of their top demands of the Trump administration is that the US should no longer sell arms to Taiwan, especially as Washington seeks to deepen trade and diplomatic relations with Beijing.

Jones wrote that Beijing's approach is blatant blackmail: using the lure of expanded trade to demand US concessions on the Taiwan issue, and this threat appears to be working.

The US has been slow to announce the critical $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan, which includes PAC-3 missiles, NASAMS, anti-drone systems, and other equipment vital to Taiwan's defense.

The amount of undelivered US arms sales to Taiwan totals $30 billion, with delays dating back at least to the administration of former US President Joe Biden. The backlog includes Harpoon coastal defense systems, HIMARS, F-16 fighter jets, and Altius drones.

According to data released by the Department of Defense this year, of the 23 major weapon systems the US promised to deliver over the past decade, only 5 have been fully delivered, 3 partially delivered, and the remaining 15 have not yet been delivered.

Delays in delivering critical defense systems undermine the core logic of preventing war in the Indo-Pacific region, "deterrence by denial," which aims to convince China that it cannot achieve its military or political goals through war.

The focus of "deterrence by denial" is to provide Taiwan with the weapons and equipment necessary for self-defense, thereby deterring China's aggressive intentions.

Furthermore, arms sales and weapons deliveries are a concrete demonstration of the US political commitment to Taiwan and its credibility in the region.

As regional countries worry about China's growing power and intentions, US delays in delivering arms are causing concern in Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Australia, the Philippines, and other regional nations about US commitments.

Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party have ordered the People's Liberation Army to develop the capability to successfully invade Taiwan by next year.

Jones noted that the US delivers only about $4 billion in weapons to Taiwan annually. At the current pace, it would take the US 10 years to deliver all promised military aid, which would be too late to help Taiwan.

He concluded that the solution is very simple: the Trump administration must approve the $14 billion arms sale and accelerate the delivery of the $30 billion in weapons and equipment previously promised to Taiwan. Otherwise, the US risks weakening regional deterrence and increasing the risk of war. (Editor: Hong Peiying) 1150609