US needs to speed up delivery of weapons to Taiwan: US general
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US Army General Mark Milley said Taiwan needed weapons like air defence systems and those that could target ships from land.
PHOTO: REUTERS
TOKYO – Washington and its allies must speed up weapon deliveries to Taiwan in the coming years to help the island defend itself, the top US general said on Friday.
The United States is Taiwan’s most important arms supplier.
China has repeatedly demanded that the sale of US weapons to Taiwan stop, viewing them as unwarranted support for the island that Beijing regards as a renegade province to be reunified, by force if necessary.
“The speed at which we, the United States, or other countries assist Taiwan in improving (their) defensive capabilities – I think that probably needs to be accelerated in the years to come,” US Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters during a visit to Tokyo.
Gen Milley said Taiwan needed weapons like air defence systems and those that could target ships from land. “I think it’s important that Taiwan’s military and its defensive capabilities be improved.”
Taiwan has since 2022 complained of delays in US weapon deliveries, like Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, as manufacturers turned their supplies to Ukraine as it battles invading Russian forces. The issue has concerned some US lawmakers.
Taiwan has said its defence spending in 2023 will focus on preparing weapons and equipment for a “total blockade” by China, including parts for F-16 fighters and replenishing arms.
China staged war games around the island in August, firing missiles over Taipei and declaring no-fly and no-sail zones in a simulation of how it would seek to cut Taiwan off in a war.
In recent days, China’s military has been practising joint force sea operations ahead of Taiwan’s annual war games at end-July when it will simulate breaking a Chinese blockade.
Gen Milley said US-China ties were at a “very low point” and recent diplomatic meetings like that between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi were important to reduce the chances of escalation.
He also said the US was looking at whether it needed to change where some of its forces were based within the Asia-Pacific. The majority of American forces in the region are in North-east Asia, including 28,500 troops in South Korea and 56,000 in Japan.
“We are seriously looking at potential alternative basing options,” Gen Milley said. REUTERS
