Taiwan, how the US defense industry will move
As tensions between China and Taiwan heat up, the US is preparing the trip to Taipei of about 25 military contractors (the first since 2019). The aim is the joint production of drones and munitions
The American defense industry prepares the landing in Taiwan.
About 25 American defense contractors plan to send representatives to Taiwan in early May to discuss joint production of drones and munitions. US Taiwan Affairs Council Chairman Rupert Hammond-Chambers told Nikkei . A Taiwanese industry representative yesterday confirmed the visit to the Central News Agency.
This is the first such trip to Taipei since 2019. Hammond-Chambers said that President Tsai is focused on strengthening Taiwan's defense industry and that the trip is aimed at "promoting defense industry cooperation with Taiwan".
Meanwhile, Washington is exploring various options to help bolster the island's defenses, the Asian newspaper adds. US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy pledged to strengthen Taiwan's self-defense capacity in a meeting with Tsai in California on Wednesday. "Friendship between the people of Taiwan and America is a matter of profound importance to the free world, and is critical to maintaining economic freedom, regional peace and stability," McCarthy said.
In the background, the growing tensions between Taiwan and China. The news follows days of intense military exercises China staged around Taiwan in response to President Tsai Ing-wen's meeting with President McCarthy last week.
Beijing said the exercises represent "a serious warning against the collusion and provocation of Taiwanese separatist forces and external forces".
All the details.
US DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL MISSION TO TAIWAN
The US defense industry delegation will be led by Steven Rudder, retired commander of the US Marine Corps Pacific Force. It would be the first major US defense industry delegation to visit the nation since 2019.
The Taiwan-US Defense Business Forum was held in 2018 and 2019, bringing many industry representatives to Taiwan, but it has been held online for the past three years due to the pandemic.
In addition to talks with Taiwanese defense industry representatives, he is seeking to meet with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.
DRONES, PLANES AND SUBMARINES AS WELL AS AMMUNITION
As for the agenda, Hammond-Chambers said the Taiwanese side is interested in drones — aerial, surface and submarine — as well as munitions.
In particular, according to reports, the US delegation will seek opportunities to provide advanced technology and jointly develop drones with Taiwanese companies. Drones can be used for both surveillance and armed attacks and are seen as a vital tool in deterring a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. They are also relatively inexpensive and can be easily implemented on a large scale.
THE NECESSARY STEPS
The visit would allow for direct communication on how to secure ammunition supplies, but the companies would need US government authorization to jointly produce weapons overseas, said Chou Yu-ping, a retired Air Force colonel from the US. Air Missile Defense Command.
US companies typically require government authorization to jointly produce weapons with foreign partners.
“From a very high-level perspective, we think co-production deals make sense, but we have to look at them on a case-by-case basis, and it has to be at the request of US industry,” a senior Biden administration official told Nikkei .
PRODUCTION CAPACITY ISSUE
Indeed Washington is open to the idea largely since US defense contractors are already struggling to keep up with obligations at home and abroad. The United States has yet to deliver some $19 billion in promised weapons to Taiwan.
But there is the node of the production capacity of the American defense industry to be resolved. The companies started ramping up domestic production capacity after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but it will take some time for that to take effect.
"The US defense industrial base is not adequately prepared for the current competitive security environment," warned Seth Jones, senior vice president of the think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies, in a January report. “In a major regional conflict — such as a war with China over the Taiwan Strait — US munitions use would likely exceed the US Department of Defense's current stockpiles,” Jones added. Precisely for this reason, co-production with foreign partners represents a potential solution.
Furthermore, joint production of drones and munitions would be a major step forward for US-Taiwan defense cooperation. It could help deter any potential military action by China, notes EurasianTimes .
BIDEN PUSHES OTHER COUNTRIES (EUROPEAN) TO ARM TAIWAN
At the same time, the Biden administration is urging some European countries to help arm Taiwan. Almost all of the weapons Taiwan has purchased from overseas in recent years come from the United States. “It is widely believed by the Biden administration that Taiwan should be able to source from a variety of different sources,” a Biden administration official told Nikkei .
According to sources in the newspaper, Washington has mainly addressed European countries.
INCLUDING SWEDEN
Specifically, Sweden could be one of them. The Excalibur guided artillery projectile, jointly developed by US-based Raytheon Missiles & Defense and Swedish partner BAE Systems Bofors, can be used in precision strikes. Therefore, it could strengthen Taiwan's defensive capabilities.
To export weapons developed with a foreign partner to a third country or region, a US company needs approval from that partner's government. Stockholm has so far not exported Excalibur to avoid backlash from Beijing, according to Nikkei sources. However, now the Biden administration would not rule out this possibility.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/pronta-missione-taiwan-per-industria-della-difesa-usa/ on Thu, 13 Apr 2023 11:02:46 +0000.