The US Department of Defense has reportedly established a senior integration group for Taiwan (SIG-T) to enhance the efficiency and coordination in offering military support to the nation, Defense News said in a report on Thursday last week.
The US Congress in 2022 for the first time allowed the US Department of Defense to ship up to US$1 billion of its own weapons to Taiwan each year, the online report said.
This month’s print issue of Defense News features Taiwan on the cover.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
However, US lawmakers did not provide funding to replace the stocks, the report said.
Last year, when asked by lawmakers in a hearing how to better support Taiwan, Pentagon officials requested funding for the shipments, it said.
Things began to change in April, when the US Congress passed a US$95 billion foreign aid package, which includes about US$4 billion for Taiwan, the report said, adding that almost 50 percent of the budget is to replace donated stock.
The SIG-T, established by US Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, allows some Pentagon officials to focus on a single issue: support for Taiwan, the report said.
The purpose of the SIG-T “is to focus all the relevant leaders in the Pentagon on a single issue — in this case, support for the island nation,” Defense News said. “It includes membership from the services, Indo-Pacific Command, acquisition and sustainment offices, policy offices and other entities in the Defense Department. They meet regularly and report to Hicks.”
Two similar teams had been formed prior to the one this time, one for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the other in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the report said.
However, this was the first time that the Pentagon used the model for a partner not at war, it added.
A spokesman for Hicks told Defense News in a statement that the department follows the US government’s decades-long policy toward Taiwan
The spokesman did not acknowledge the existence of the integration group or how US government officials would coordinate support for Taiwan.
Although the US government does not recognize Taiwan as an independent nation and will not officially commit to its defense, the two share close ties and work together for arms sales, including US$19 billion in military sales, the report said.
US President Joe Biden has said multiple times that the US would aid Taiwan if it came under attack.
The department told Defense News that it was planning its first round of aid, which Biden signed, valued at US$345 million.
However, subsequent implementation of military aid has been slow due to the lack of replenishment funds, the report said.
While the establishment of the SIG-T is an indication of the strategic importance of Taiwan, it faces many challenges, the report said.
The US Navy and Air Force were concerned that sending more equipment would harm the US’ own military readiness in the Pacific, the report said.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at one point had to freeze part of funding for Taiwan due to the lack of replenishment funds from Congress, going against the preference of the White House and the US Department of State, it said.
Moreover, Taiwan’s smaller military limits how much aid it can absorb, the report said.
As such, Washington is now urging Taiwan to take an “asymmetric” approach to national defense, or one focused almost solely on denying China’s ability to invade, it added.
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