The US and Taiwan are “100 percent” committed to jointly manufacturing weapons, but the complexities involved in such an arrangement could pose challenges, a defense expert said on Tuesday.
There is a “great deal of momentum right at the very top of the US government and the Taiwan government for coproduction” of weapons, US-Taiwan Business Council president Rupert Hammond-Chambers said on the sidelines of the US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference in Philadelphia.
Since its debut in 2002, the annual conference has facilitated engagement among the US defense industry, Taipei and Washington on security matters, said the council, which organized the event.
Photo: CNA
Asked to comment on the prospect of the US and Taiwan coproducing weapons after Taipei and Washington expressed in interested in the idea, Hammond-Chambers said that the countries’ commitment to coproduction is “100 percent,” but that many details still needed to be sorted out.
“I don’t think it’s a matter of if there will be coproduction, it’s a matter of what will be coproduced and when will it be coproduced,” he said.
The cost-effectiveness of joint production and the buyers that would be targeted, given the sensitivity of “one China” policies held by most countries, would also have to be considered, he said.
Other issues, including who would be the next US president or potential attempts by Taiwanese opposition parties to cut defense spending in the coming years could also cause “significant political problems,” he added.
“These big issues all have to be worked at, and we are in the early stages of working that out,” he said.
During this year’s conference, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Yen-pu (徐衍璞), who led Taiwan’s delegation to the gathering, urged Washington to include Taipei in a list of countries with which it engages in joint or licensed weapons production.
US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Jedidiah Royal on Monday said that the US would soon launch the Partnership for Indo-Pacific Industrial Resilience with at least 12 US allies in the Indo-Pacific region and Europe, including Taiwan.
It would address supply chain constraints regarding weapons, a source who attended the closed-door speech cited Royal as saying.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS