Taiwan might soon acquire Aegis-equipped warships or other in-demand weapons systems if reports are accurate that the US Congress plans to authorize US$10 billion of military aid to Taiwan, Taiwanese defense experts said.
US lawmakers are ready to back military aid packages to Taiwan in that amount as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the next fiscal year, a Bloomberg reporter on Thursday wrote on Twitter, adding that details are to be released imminently.
In Taipei, a defense official said on condition of anonymity that information about specific items is classified, adding that Taiwan continues to exchange views about its force planning with the US.
Photo: Reuters
Taipei and Washington should carefully consider which weapons Taiwan needs that cannot be developed or obtained independently, Institute for National Defense and Security Research analyst Shu Hsiao-huang (舒孝煌) said.
These weapons include next-generation principal surface combatants equipped with the Aegis combat system, anti-submarine warfare helicopters, electronic warfare enhancements, airborne early warning and control systems, and drones, he said.
Taiwan urgently needs such capabilities to protect vital air and sea communication links that would likely be attacked in a Chinese military operation, he said, citing the Pentagon’s China Military Power Report 2022.
Defence International editor Chen Kuo-ming (陳國銘) said the significance of the reported increase in US military aid can be inferred from its scale, given that US aid to Ukraine is US$18 billion.
The dramatic boost in aid also suggests that Washington believes that the risks confronting Taiwan are extremely high, he added.
Taipei can make use of the aid packages by purchasing precision-guided munitions, Javelin anti-tank weapons and Stinger anti-aircraft systems, or use the money to pay for existing orders, he said.
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