The U.S. sells almost all of Taiwan’s weapons and military equipment as part of a long-standing legal commitment by Washington. But since 2019, arms systems worth roughly US$20 billion haven’t been delivered. In part one of our special series "Defending Taiwan," TaiwanPlus travels to the U.S. to find out where Taiwan’s missing weapons are.
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00:00This is an F-16, a US-made fighter jet that Taiwan was supposed to receive 66 of starting
00:09in 2023.
00:11The deal was signed in 2019, but fast forward to today, and Taiwan still hasn't received
00:17any new jets.
00:19In fact, since 2019, a majority of its weapons deals with the US, now worth more than $20
00:24billion have yet to be completed, leaving many asking, where are Taiwan's missing weapons?
00:34To answer this, Taiwan Plus traveled to the US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference in Pennsylvania
00:40to meet with government representatives and analysts from both sides to try and understand
00:45what happened.
00:47We're in the lobby of the Logan Hotel in downtown Philadelphia, where defense officials and
00:52weapons contractors from both the United States and Taiwan have a rare chance to meet
00:57face-to-face.
00:58Now, I'm told by the organizers of the event that somewhere in this hotel, they're looking
01:02to talk about the priorities for Taiwan's defense and how to resolve the weapons backlog.
01:09While members of Taiwan's top political parties were happy to talk to the media, Taiwan's
01:13military originally didn't want to speak to the press.
01:22But given how much attention the weapons backlog has received, Taiwan's vice minister, who's
01:26in charge of buying weapons, agreed to shed light on the source of the problem.
01:30Of course, the US has been affected by the pandemic, the supply chain, and other related
01:35factors, which has caused the entire F-16V deal to be delayed.
01:42But I've been discussing this with the US administration and the US-Mexico company,
01:47and I hope that by 2026, we will be able to deliver the weapons as we need them to be delivered.
01:56Delivery by 2026 would mean a delay of roughly three years.
02:00And that's concerning for Taiwan, as it continues to bolster its defense against threats from
02:05neighboring China.
02:08U.S. intelligence officials warned that China could have the ability to take Taiwan by force
02:13as early as 2027.
02:15Taiwan has continued to send delegations to the U.S. to urge a faster delivery of these
02:20weapons, not always with much effect, a problem organizers here say is due to red tape.
02:27The explanation isn't easy from a nomenclature standpoint.
02:31The best explanation is, is it takes a long time to make weapons.
02:35The contracts to produce these weapons and then deliver them run four, five, six years.
02:41And that's a huge problem for the United States generally.
02:44Long contract times means that production can be derailed by unexpected events.
02:53Just a few hours away in Washington, D.C., the U.S., which is Taiwan's main provider
02:57of weapons, is trying to reduce the bureaucracy surrounding arms purchases.
03:02But producing the weapons, that's a different story.
03:06Seeing how big some of these delays are, U.S. lawmakers have been urging the U.S. to speed
03:10up delivery of these weapons to Taiwan.
03:13But analysts here in D.C. say that it has more to do with the individual producer trying
03:18to build those systems.
03:20U.S. lawmakers have written multiple letters to the military asking for clarification on
03:25how long it takes to make these systems.
03:28Eric Gomez from the Cato Institute has been monitoring almost all of Taiwan's arms sales
03:33and tracking them on this database.
03:36He says Taiwan's current situation is far from normal.
03:40What makes Taiwan so interesting is, number one, the size of what hasn't been delivered
03:47yet is about as big as how much Taiwan spends on its defense in a year.
03:51Number two, there's some really egregious delays.
03:55There are some sales in my data set that were announced back in 2015, 16, 17 that aren't
04:01there yet.
04:02So that's another almost one.
04:05He says that a combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and global conflicts are putting
04:10pressure on an already strained U.S. defense industry.
04:13But given the threat that Taiwan faces, Eric says he's concerned about how the U.S. is
04:18prioritizing its arms sales as the U.S. paints China as a pacing threat.
04:24In this environment of the Ukraine war happening, Israel, the Middle East potentially sliding
04:30into a regional war, and China increasing its pressure on Taiwan, it's raising these
04:35political questions and strategic questions about what is, who is America prioritizing?
04:42And this, this backlog makes it definitely seem like we aren't prioritizing Taiwan.
04:48As Taiwan continues to wait for its weapons, officials at the conference told Taiwan Plus
04:52that the majority of the backlog should be resolved within 12 to 18 months.
04:57But given the threat that Taiwan faces, time might not be on its side.
05:04Neither the U.S. nor Taiwanese governments seem able to do much to speed up this process.
05:09And for the time being, it'll be up to U.S. defense contractors to decide how and if to
05:15expand production.
05:16So where are Taiwan's missing weapons?
05:19The answer is surprisingly simple.
05:21They don't exist yet, meaning the wait for delivery looks set to continue.
05:26I'm Yishue, and I'm Il-Kong in Washington, D.C., for Taiwan Plus.